Horizon
by guitargirl2
Summary: Edward and Bella lives won't seem to settle down, at least for long.
1. Prom

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, etc.**

**I found this in the dictionary and had to add it: **

**Twilight: the time of day just after sunset or before dawn, when the Sun is below the horizon**

He kissed my neck and I felt a surge of electricity, I gasped suddenly and shut my eyes. Edward smiled against my neck, I realized that he wasn't going to change me. I pulled away from him –hard as it was for me to do– and looked at him. He was still smiling but he looked slightly alarmed.

"You know I can't…" he began.

"No! I don't know that. I know that you _won't!_" I cut him off angrily. _Why was he always like that? For once couldn't he just trust me!_ He narrowed his eyes. "It's horrible you not being able to read my mind isn't it." I spat sarcastically.

"Bella, please…" he looked around. I stepped away, _Prom night. My most special night all right. _I was so angry at him but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I knew that I was always going to be that fragile glass doll to him. Finally I willed myself to look up. **Big** mistake. His eyes were dark –not thirsty dark– and doing that incredibly unfair smoldering thing again. My legs wobbled and I cursed myself for being so, well, human. I tried to turn away but his hands still had that iron grasp on me.

"Edward." I tried to sound threatening but I sounded more like I had severe laryngitis. He had to fight back a smile and put his solid arm around my waist and started walking –or carrying– me back to the dance. Once again I cursed him for cheating and held onto my feelings of anger, trying desperately to remember just what he had done, or refused to do.

"Whoops, look at the time, I should get back home. You know Charlie worries about me." I said and tried to control my legs, or at least the one that still worked, and force him towards the car. To my surprise he didn't fight me.

He placed me gently in the car and I sat and leaned against the window. I realized I was pouting but at the same time I needed to stay angry and if I looked at him I thought I might melt. He slid into the car silently. I saw Alice come out from the dance and look after our car, her face solemn. It took me a full thirty seconds to realize that he was following the speed limits.

"Not feeling so fast tonight?" I asked coldly.

"It's prom night, cops are everywhere." He spat. _Whoa! He's pissed!_ He was making a small growling sound and muttering under his breath. For about the billionth time that night I found myself cursing my average senses. I watched the millions of trees pass by and felt as if the car was radiating with all of our anger. Suddenly I felt him speed up and then a few seconds later pull over.

He turned to me. "Why!" he practically yelled.

"Why what?" I was honestly was confused but I was still looking out the window apparently studying a small bush next to the car.

He roared. I tensed, he was really angry and I had no idea where I was. Things weren't looking up. I continued to stare at the small bush. I felt him relax and once again began to mutter under his breath. A few seconds later the car was moving and I was home only minutes later. I was terrified of how he was acting. I got out of the car and ran –hobbled as fast as I could– into my house trying to act angry not frightened and weak. Once inside I heard Charlie snoring in the living room. I caught my breath and walked in loud enough to wake him up.

He looked up. "Hey. How was the dance?" He smiled then glanced around looking for the clock. It was ten thirty.

I smiled. "Great!" I managed to sound enthusiastic. "But I was kinda tired so Edward took me home." I explained and gestured towards my leg.

He nodded and I went upstairs. I opened my door and felt hopes I didn't even know I had started to build crumble. Edward wasn't here. I looked out my window and saw darkness.

"Edward." I whispered. I wanted to talk with him, wanted to reassure myself that I would see him again. That he wasn't too angry with me. If he was truly angry _at_ me. I nearly collapsed when I realized that he wasn't coming.

I slowly undressed, brushed out my hair, washed my face, and crawled into bed. I was awake for a while when I heard Charlie's snores coming from the living room again. For some reason that started a wave of emotions. I felt lonely and angry, not just at Edward but at myself. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I thought of Edward as I drifted into sleep.


	2. Perfect

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Twilight, etc, etc.**

**AN: Sorry the last chapter was so short, working on length!**

_Tears rolled down my cheeks and I thought of Edward as I drifted into sleep._

I woke with a start. Disoriented I looked around and saw that it was six in the morning. I sighed and rolled over. Suddenly, I thought of Edward and our fight, I jumped out of bed and ran towards the window.

"Edward?" I called tentatively. A minute later I realized I'd been holding my breath and I cursed when I exhaled and saw spots. I walked away from the window. I needed to know what had happened to Edward last night but I knew that he wouldn't be at his home. Somehow I knew he wouldn't stay around his family when he was that angry. I picked up the phone and dialed the number I knew by heart. It rang once.

"Hello Bella!" I heard Alice's cheerful voice greet me.

"How did…Oh." I stammered stupidly. I'd forgotten, momentarily, that she could see me calling beforehand.

She laughed into the phone, it sounded like music. I drew in a heavy breath and asked tentatively "Alice?...Edward…Well…"

"Last night." She finished for me. I quickly let out the breath.

"Yes. You know what happened…" I trailed off, it wasn't a question.

"Of course. But I can't tell you." She said. I was instantly confused.

"I was there…Wait…What aren't you telling me!" I demanded.

"Bella. Please." She chided and I felt soothed by her voice. "I meant I can't tell you why he's mad or where he's gone."

I paused. "Please. I need to see him." I could feel my throat closing and my heart aching as I began to reflect over last night and how long it had been since I had seen him smile at me. Since last night. I choked back a sob as she replied.

"Wait for him Bella." I could feel her attempting to calm me down. I slammed down the phone. My head and heart hurt so bad and now I was frustrated. Of course being me I decided that the best thing to do was to go and demand to see Edward. I left a note for Charlie and scrambled into my car. It roared to life and I drove madly –like Edward– towards the Cullens' home. I almost crashed about three times, narrowly avoiding two poles and a stray cat on my way over. I finally skidded to a stop at the Edwards home and jumped out of the car, not caring that it was parked horribly. I started banging on the door. I was glaring at the peep hole, hoping that Alice would answer the door and get an eyeful of my anger before it faded into heartache again.

Alice opened the door, she was wearing jeans and a cute tank top, she did not look surprised to see me.

"Bella –" she broke off when she really saw me. I saw a smile form and then when she looked at my face her golden eyes grew sad. She reached forward and pulled me inside. Jasper walked up and when he saw me his eyes grew wide and he sent a wave of calm and relaxation through the room, then turned and walked out.

"What's wrong with him!" I said loudly. "Why can't he look at me." It was hard to resist the calm that was spreading but I tried.

"Bella, you…well…come with me." Alice dragged me upstairs into her room. It was one of the first times I had seen Alice truly at a loss for words.

She shoved me, gently for a vampire, in front of her mirror and I let out a cry. I was a mess. Not bothering to brush my hair when I had gotten up had left it with a Bride-of-Frankenstein type of style. My pajama's were wrinkled and my eyes were red and puffy from the lack of sleep. My face, without any cover-up, was blotchy and red from crying. Basically I was a mess. I felt all my energy drain out of me and I collapsed, in a second she caught me and had laid me of her couch. I fell in and out of exhaustion and sleep. I woke up to Alice pulling my hair back and I looked down and saw that I was in different, clean,clothes. _How did she do that? Well I had been pretty tired._ I looked around and sat up when she was done.

"Why was he mad last night?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Will he tell me?" I asked. She nodded. I felt a wave of relief.

"Will he tell me today?" I looked into her golden eyes. She shook her head. "Tomorrow?" I said hopefully. She looked away. I was feeling extremely emotional and felt myself keeping back a wave of tears. "He HAS to!" I told her. I was just whispering, but I knew she could hear. She sighed as I got off her bed.

"Where is he?" I pulled from my anger to keep my voice steady.

"I can't Bella" She turned away and walked towards the door. I couldn't handle it. I needed to know. I needed to see him. I had to know everything. This morning had just been a wave of emotions and I couldn't stand any of it. I screamed, very unlike me, and ran. To my, and for once Alice's, surprise I lunged at Alice. This was extremely unlike me. I was screaming and hitting her arm, and whatever other part of her I could hit. I saw Alice looking at me, I knew I wasn't hurting her but she was shocked. In a flash Alice's entire family, save Edward, was at the door. Jasper instantly sent a wave of calm which didn't affect me at all and I heard Rosalie murmur something about me "finally cracking". I stopped hitting Alice long enough to look up at her and suddenly Edward appeared next to her his eyes first concerned then shocked. His eyes met mine, and for the second time that morning, I collapsed.

I woke up but I didn't open my eyes. I just sat there and listened to some very distant voices. I was drowsy but I could hear them. They were speaking very fast.

I heard Alice's voice, "…emotional, that's all!"

Then Rosalie, "Yeah right. She cracked, we never should have let this continue."

Finally, the voice I'd been waiting for, Edward spoke up "STOP!" he whispered furiously, "You can't do anything. Not now. I need her. She's upset with me." I cracked my eyes open and watched him glare at Rosalie. He was so perfect, even when he was angry.

Instantly Carlisle, who had been watching me, stopped them. "Bella. How do you feel?"

"Stupid." I replied honestly and Carlisle backed away. I couldn't bear to look at Alice. "I'm sorry, I feel horrible."

Edward was over me in a second, and Alice was talking "No, I know, I shouldn't have been so…well, me. Not when I knew you were emotional." She looked away.

Suddenly it hit me. _She knew! Alice knew I would throw a fit and that Edward would come! _I wanted to give Alice a huge hug. Instead I settled for an extremely thankful glance. She smiled and Edward looked between us. Alice was gone in a second. Edward narrowed his eyes, and I grabbed his hand, he didn't need to know our secret. It was cool and comforting. His family left a second later.

"Edward." I couldn't believe he was here. That's when I noticed I was in his room. I looked and saw I was on a bed. _A bed!_

He gave his small sideways smile and I felt my heart go wild, "I got a new couch, with a pull out bed. For you, I was going to show you last night." He widened his smile when he heard my heart.

"Last night– "I started to ask him, but he cut me off.

"No." He said firmly and grew slightly tense. I understood, I didn't care, right now I needed him. I needed him near me. I pulled his hand towards me. He smiled and moved next to me. I moved closer to him, I was laying on my back and he scooted near me so he was on his side looking down at me. His hand was moving up my arm, then my neck, then he was cupping my face. His hand left a trail on my arm and neck that felt like pure electricity running over me. I nuzzled my head closer to him. He leaned down until his head was over mine, I smelled his breath and exhaled the breath I didn't know I had been holding. He inhaled and shut his eyes.

"You okay?" I asked with a smile.

"Perfect. Just smelling you and listening to your heart and your breathing." He opened his eyes. "You are perfect." He said it with such emotion my heart stopped.

Then he breathed in sharply and pressed his lips to mine. He exhaled and I trembled when I felt his breath. He leaned back and watched me. I sat still and felt his finger trailing over me. First over my nose, then over my cheeks, I shut my eyes and shivered under his cool touch, he traced my eyelids and then my lips. I smiled andwe stayed there for what seemed like an eternity.

And I couldn't have been happier.


	3. That time of the month

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Twilight…**

_And I couldn't have been happier._

For a while we talked about normal things, like music, school, even some of the people and teachers at school. Of course it wasn't totally normal because Edward was able to give me insights that I'd never have known without him. He'd heard some of their thoughts and he was a music lover, he'd even been alive through it all.

He leaned in and gave me a kiss and I thought I was going to melt. I realized that I'd been holding my breath when he finally leaned back and I exhaled.

Edward tried to hold back a smile, "You are so cute." Was all he managed to say before he broke out laughing.

"What!" I asked indignantly. Surely holding my breath wasn't something to laugh at, at least not like he was.

He stifled his laughter as best he could then replied, "Nothing." And he looked away trying to force a smile from his lips. Well now, I couldn't let that be. He couldn't laugh at me like that. _Oh no…He'd get what was coming now._ I sat up quickly planted a kiss on his lips –a good one if I may say– pulled back and leaned away from him. That shut him up fast. He leaned in towards me, but instead of returning the gesture, I stretched and got off the bed. He gave me a puzzled look and I looked away. I knew that if I looked at his eyes I was done. He was off the bed and in front off me in an instant. I turned and walked towards his CD collection and began flipping through it. Edward grabbed my waist and pulled me into him close. I pretended to be unaware of the enticing sent that was now filling my nostrils and I, nonchalantly, fixed mychap stickand gave a sigh. He smiled as though he'd won. _Yeah Right!_ He bent down to kiss me, and I tilted my head down at my feet and he kissed my forehead. I held back my smile and he let a low purr out at me and raised me up above his head.

That's when I freaked out. I screamed and clutched at his hands praying, stupidly of course, that he wouldn't drop me. He was smiling as he began to dance around the room as if I was his partner and I didn't rely on the laws of gravity to keep me on earth. I began to calm down and realized that he was humming a tune. He put me down and gave a coy smile.

"No fair." I muttered meekly and turned away.

"That was plenty fair." I could hear the smile in his voice. "At least compared to what you did."

I felt myself blush. "I didn't do anything!" I replied.

He pulled me in close and I pushed into his body noting how solid and cool he felt.

"You probably need to go home now right?" He asked. I gave a loud gasp.

"What time is it?" I jumped backwards and looked for a clock. It was three thirty.

"Sorry, I kept you here longer than I should have." We both knew that he would be visiting me again soon; last night was the longest I'd been away from Edward in a while. And that was fine with me.

"No, it's my fault."

"Well, let's go. I'll drive" he chuckled.

"Fine," I sighed, "but first…I need to know. Why were you so mad last night." I steadied myself for anger and got none.

"I was upset."

I waited.

"And..?" I pressed.

"And I'm sorry."

"No. What was bothering you?"

"It's nothing that concerns you. It's a family matter, and I just let out my anger, it was stupid, but these human emotions are affecting me more then I thought."

"It does concern me. I know that, don't insult me, Edward." I said softly.

"I scared you didn't I?"

"Huh?"

"Yesterday, you were terrified, I could sense it." He was whispering.

"Well of course. I was frightened for you! I didn't want you to be angry, you worry me when your angry." I said honestly.

He paused. "Carlisle and Esme," he began, "They aren't very happy about the fact that you are always pressuring me to change you. They love you like family, but they know that I can't do that to you. And they know it would just give us much more stress. More than we need now."

"Edward, I want to be changed to be near you. To not have to worry if you've fed or not. To be stronger for you."

"I can't do that now. Not now. Last night I lost my temper, please, say you forgive me?" he asked.

"Of course!" I nearly yelled and jumped into his arms. I knew that that wasn't all that was bothering him but I wasn't ready for another fight with him.

We were next to his Volvo in a second and I felt my head spin. Edward put me down and I leaned to open to door and proceeded to bonk my head on the door frame. Edward held back a laugh and asked me if I was alright. Nodding I climbed into his car and rubbed my head. Sooner then I wanted to be, I was back home.

We shared a wonderful kiss and I was back inside. I could feel goose bumps on my arms and smiled at just how strangely I reacted to Edward. I saw the note I'd left Charlie was gone and I went upstairs to check my emails. My mother would die if I didn't email her as frequently as possible. This is what I found.

**Hey Bella!**

**How is Forks? Cold perhaps? I can't wait to see you again. I miss my little Bella! So I thought that you could come and visit. Maybe for a week or so… I know you have school and all but soon it will be over and I really would love to have you down for a while! I already called Charlie and he seems fine with the idea. Plus it's nice and sunny in Phoenix. (Or so I hear…I'm traveling now). But we'll be home soon and I expect to have my girl in her room again. Plus we have a surprise waiting for you!**

**Miss you baby!**

**Mom.**

I smiled at the email and thought of how I could turn her down without hurting her. Because of course I wanted to go to Phoenix, but how could I leave Edward. I couldn't leave him or take him. If I took him people would stare –more than usual– at the giant diamond that I was walking with, not to mention that that would be pretty impossible to explain to my mom. Even more impossible would be explaining his hats, turtlenecks and long pants in one hundred degree shade. Especially since he was always cool to the touch. And leaving him was definitely not an option; I was anxious just waiting for him to come back from dropping off his car. I decided to wait and talk to Edward about it.

I went to the bathroom to fix my hair, which had started to frizz, and then waited another twenty minutes for him to return before I began pacing across my room. He never took this long, always ten or fifteen minutes. I was just about to pick up the phone and call his home when he appeared in my room.

"Where have you been?" I nearly screamed and plowed into his arms to calm myself. He didn't reply and I looked at him and saw a coy smile growing on his lips.

"What?" I asked and he shook his head in return.

"Tell me." I pouted.

"Surprise!" he said finally and I saw he was holding out two cell phones. My jaw dropped as I stared at them. The phones were cute but definitely just for communication, there was no camera on it (which was good because I'd probably break it in about five minutes). They were sleek and silver, identical and gorgeous.

"One for you, and one for me. That way when were apart we can call each other!" I smiled and gave him a puzzled look.

"We're never apart for more than an hour or two at most. Why do I need to call you?" I asked.

"Because now I can reach you where ever you are, even if I'm not there. Besides you can call your mom and Charlie." He shrugged.

"Seriously, why are you giving this to me?" I asked seriously, he paused and I knew I was not going to be too happy.

"You should go to Phoenix." He tried to thrust the phone into my hand.

"How did…" my eyes grew wide, "Can you hear my thoughts now?"

He laughed, "No. Bella I came back while you were in the bathroom and saw the email." He pointed to the computer screen which had changed to a screen saver, but I knew I had forgotten to log out."I think," he paused, "you should go."

I gave him a horrified look and shook my head. "No way! I'm not leaving you, not for a long time, not for even a whole day."

"Bella–"

"No. I can't leave you. Last night was hard enough. I can't leave you for a week!" squeezed him as hard as I could as I finished.

"Bella, you wouldn't be apart from me, I could visit at night. I could run down there at night and see you. Trust me it won't be so bad." He smiled, I could tell he wasn't too happy about this but he wanted me to be as "human" as possible and I knew he wouldn't give up.

"Let me think about it."

"Fine." Then he gave me a kiss and I was suddenly very aware of his smell. All I wanted to do was freeze that moment forever. I felt the shiver run up and down my back and saw his appreciative smile. "You sure you don't want to go?" he murmured, his lips near mine, and his coolhands trailed up my spine following the previous trail of the shiver. I pulled away, _I'm not going to let him win that way!_, and tried to give him a cold stare, it melted in his eyes.

"Let's go out." I suggested and he feigned mock horror – I hadn't been too social now that I'd found the only person I really needed. Plus theexperience with Jameshadn't made me very trusting.

"Like with other people!" he gasped and I felt a fine red blush run up my neck and hit my cheeks. He pressed his cool hand against it and smiled at its warmth.

"No." I said with as much dignity as I could muster. "Just you and me."

"Where?"

"Anywhere." He broke into a wide grin.

"Let's be normal for a day." He suggested nonchalantly. "No more fighting or vampire stuff, just us."

"Well, it's a little late for normal today. It's almost four thirty and besides I've fainted twice and attacked your sister already." I smiled and he rolled his wonderful topaz eyes.

"Come on. It'll be fun. And we should be around other people." His eyes bored into me and I felt myself leaning in towards him. I caved, what can I say, there was only the most beautiful man in the world (to me) staring at me and I could feel my mind turning to mush.

"Well..." I sighed, I would much rather stay here with him then go out into town with other people.

"Come on" he tugged at my hand. Sometimes he can remind me so much of a little kid, but I thought if "being normal" (no vampire stuff) was so important right now then I could handle it.

He half dragged me downstairs and out the door, just in time to see Charlie pull up the driveway. Edward stopped dragging me and mumbled, "Follow my lead." Under his breath as Charlie got out of the car.

"Like you give my a choice." I whispered just as quietly and rubbed at the arm he was holding. He gave a small smile.

Charlie looked at us both very suspiciously and asked if he could talk to me privately, _Yeah right._ We walked in the house and looked at me as if grasping for words to form a sentence.

When it finally came I wasn't too happy.

"What is wrong with Edward and you?" I was shocked, there was nothing wrong.

"Nothing Dad. Why do you think something is wrong." I asked almost angrily.

"Your note was….very…." he trailed off and waited for me to finish. Then I remembered I'd been nearly bawling when I wrote that and not myself. I instantly spat out the first excuse I could think of, even though it made my cheeks burn.

"I'm…" then I whispered, "in _that_ time of the month." I hinted. He took a minute and then nodded and I saw his cheeks start to get a little pink. _That must be where I get it._ I gave a sheepish smile and began to walk out before he noted how bad of a liar I was, he let me go.

Edward was already in the car. The second I sat down he exploded with laughter. "_That _time of the month?" as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

I fumed. "Privately!" I nearly yelled at him, "He wanted to talk _privately_!"

"I can't help what I hear." He choked back the rest of his laughter and backed out of the driveway and sped off.

**AN: This is getting somewhere, trust me! Review, review, review!**


	4. Swim?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. **

**AN: I am finally reaching the plot! I know the beginning was all fluff!**

"_I can't help what I hear." He choked back the rest of his laughter and backed out of the driveway and sped off._

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" I grinned and realized that the speed wasn't so bad. It was something I related to Edward and anything related to him was good.

"When we get there." He turned and stroked my cheek and I felt the surge of heat come to my cheeks at his touch.

I watched the blurs of trees and cars go by as he started in his own version of twenty questions. It seemed like no matter how many questions he asked me he always had more, and I hoped he always would. I replied honestly to the questions and then began to ask him questions.

"Were your eyes topaz before you were changed?" I asked.

"Yeah, but slightly duller." I was shocked I couldn't imagine him having anything but those glorious eyes.

"Any chance you have any portraits or pictures or yourself from then?" I really wanted to see him before he was changed.

"No, Thank God. I wouldn't want you to see me then." He gave a secret smile.

"Why?"

"Trust me. It was different then I am now and besides you can't anyways," he reminded me.

"So, can you swim?" I realized I'd never asked him before.

"Of course!" he laughed.

"I want to see that."

"Maybe someday."

"Someday as in, maybe in a hundred years?" I hinted and he fell silent. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

"Well for that you lose your turn." He said referring to our question game.

"Can you blush for me?" he turned to look at my face.

"I can't do it on command!" I acted insulted.

"Bella…What color is your underwear?" I felt the familiar rush of heat and knew he had his wish.

"Edward! Please, normal, remember?" I turned away.

"Blushing is perfectly normal." He argued and I smiled and watched the flow of trees stagger and then disappear completely only to be replaced by stores and cars.

"Seriously, where are we?" I was getting excited now.

"Santa Cruz." He replied and I nearly screamed. _California! _And to my happiness it looked very overcast. A perfect day. He slowed and parked the car along the sidewalk.

"Now what?" I asked, preoccupied just watching people walk around.

"We shop." He got out of the car and I felt my smile fall off my face.

"Huh?" I followed him out and could almost smell the ocean. "But, _shopping_ really?" I was expecting this to be a joke.

"No, you'll love this." And he led me into the nearest shop. I was hit by a wave of candle scent and began to browse through a store of seemingly random signs and items when I realized where I was.

"A music store?" I asked happily.

"Sort of. More like a collection of random things for sale, some of which involve music." I was beaming and began to look through the old records and posters. He began pointing out his favorites and I pointed out a few that I really loved. After a few hours browsing shops my stomach and I decided that I should call Charlie then go get something to eat. But first I ran to the counter and asked to woman for the nearest bathroom. When I came back the clerk was eyeing Edward strangely, I thought maybe she had attempted to hit on him.

I pulled out my new cell phone and dialed the home number. It rang twice and Charlie picked up.

"Hey!" I answered, and quickly explained my cell phone and told him we had driven to town and would be back before midnight (my new curfew now that Charlie and Edward were buddies). He was nice and told me to be safe.

I dropped the phone while attempting to place it back in my pocket and nearly fell into an old lady while reaching for it. Of course Edward caught me and, after placing me back on my feet, broke into laughter. I mumbled an apology to the old woman who seemed perplexed by the god-like boy roaring with laughter and the quiet, clumsy girl. _What a pair we make, huh?_ I retrieved the phone and watched her waddle off. I turned and glared at Edward.

"What?" he choked, "I didn't attack an elderly woman, don't look at _me _like that." And with that I turned bright red.

I began to stomp off and soon felt his cool, hard grip around my waist and realized that I had thundered off in the wrong direction. We quickly righted my mistake and kept walking, leaning on each other (me more than him). We walked like that until we reached a restaurant. And the waiter lazily sat us and read the specials. I ordered quickly and ate even faster. Edward seemed to enjoy watching me.

"You look at me like I'm your pet." I accused.

"That wouldn't be so bad." He grinned, "Having a trained Bella pet for me."

"You couldn't train me if you tried."

"Want to bet?" the challenge was on.

The waiter came and gave us the check.

"Bella, don't even think about it." he commanded as my hand reached for the bill. I quickly retracted my hand and realized I had lost, pretty fast and bad. I shook my head and pouted.

"Come on Bella. Come on girl." He whispered as he stood up. I glared at him and stayed put. He reached over and picked me like he was cradling a baby. As he carried me out like this I must say I enjoyed watching the women's faces go from surprised to open-mouthed-gaping once they truly looked at who was carrying me.

"Where to now, Jeeves?" I joked and he put me down.

"I want to show you something." He looked deep into my eyes and I found myself wobbling and clutched him for support.

He picked me back up, against my small protests, and carried me to the beach. I was in awe, it was so beautiful. We weaved between the few tourists and children and walked on the seemingly endless strips of beach. His hand entwined with mine, I was amazingly aware every time his fingers so much as twitched. Then when the little sun that was visible began to sink below the horizon he grabbed me and took off, in a run, vampire speed. I found myself laughing as he swerved to avoid a jogger we looked put off as a "breeze" nearly swept him off his feet. He stopped on top of a small hill.

"I thought you said no vampire stuff." I chided.

"Well, if you weren't such a slow walker." He grinned then got a little nervous looking and I tensed.

"What?" I looked around and he gave a laugh.

"Nothing, Angel. Nothing." And pulled me close, he wrapped his arms around me just under my chest with my back towards him. We watched the barely visible sun sink down below the water and I could catch glimpses of his arms sparkling in the sunlight. I was truly in heaven. The sky turned pink and his grip tightened a little.

Then he released me.

I spun around and saw him standing back a little.

"Edward?" I was growing worried.

"Bella, I love you. I really do, when I said that you were my life, I meant it. I could never let you go. I want so much for you and part of that is me not being with you, you being human." He continued as I started to make a noise of protest. "But really I can't do that. Not without killing us both and I think that we've been so serious lately. I just want to be close to you. I hate leaving you." He stopped and looked so deep into my eyes I thought that I would cease to exist if he turned away.

His topaz eyes were locked in mine and his serious face was gorgeous in the fading pink sun. His straight nose and firm jaw line were only enhanced and held me enchanted. It brought tears to my eyes. He looked worried.

"Bella?"

"I'm fine, you're just so…" I shook my head slightly. "I love you." I finished at a loss for words.

His eyes grew softer and he stepped close to me.

"I want you. Forever. For as long as the world is, until time has ended and even then I want to be with you longer." His words took my breath away, and I noted that in his unusually nervous demeanor he had stopped breathing.

"Bella, what I'm saying is that I decided the other night." Then I stopped breathing. "I want to spend eternity with you, and I want you to be mine. So, yes, I'll show you I can swim sometime in the next hundred years. I want to marry you Bella, I want to see you everyday. I don't think that seeing you every second for all of eternity could ever make me love you less. Be with me Bella." I inhaled and looked back just as fiercely into his eyes.

"For eternity and more." I whispered and ran into his arms. He pulled me closer than I thought possible and we stood like that until I thought that my heart would burst and the sun was well below the ground.

I looked up at him and kissed him. My arms snaked around his back and neck and slid down to his waist. His arms ran through my hair then were on my lower back pushing me closer to him. His lips were parted slightly and I ran my tongue along his teeth. He tensed then exhaled suddenly and I pushed closer to him, my hands creeping dangerously close to his butt and he pulled me into him in a wild breath. We stood like that until I was sure I would pass out and he released me.

There was no need to vocalize our feelings, we both were filled with passion and love and holding back was hard. There was only one thing left to ask.

"When?" I whispered into his beautiful ear. He knew what I meant.

"I think that I should change you after college."

"No, after high school." I argued.

"That's too soon."

"College is too long to wait."

"I'll think about it." he grinned remembering my words from before. I knew he meant it.

We drove home so fast, that even I was amazed. That night still seems like a blur to me. How can I describe the euphoria of knowing that I would spend the rest of my life with Edward?

I got home at 10, way before my curfew. With this new curfew I got more time with Edward, besides Charlie and Edward were getting to be friends, they trusted each other.

I got home and gave Edward a hug and kiss and ran inside, Charlie stopped me from running up to my room.

"Bella, your mom called and asked about you going to Phoenix after school. I think that's great if you want to go back home for a while." I could tell he wasn't too comfortable with this conversation. I knew we would miss each other.

"I know I talked to Edward tonight and he said that it'd be fine with him that's also why he got me the cell phone."

"He just got that?"

"You were my first call." I smiled and said goodnight.

I ran upstairs and checked my email, unsurprisingly my mom had sent me at least three. I sighed and replied that I would, in fact, be going down to visit her in a few weeks.

Until then I wouldn't be leaving Edward's side.

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Those few weeks were great, Edward hardly left me alone. I even got my cast off with him in the room.

School was over and because I was leaving the next day I had an excuse to miss a few parties –which didn't bother me at all. We were both anxious about me leaving, but Edward made me endless promises that he would visit. I could barely contain myself when the time came for me to leave.

He drove me to the airport with Charlie and gave me a small kiss. He was going to be following the plane; he had told me numerous times about how much me going on a plane with my attraction to trouble worried him. I told him it would be boring but, lo and behold, he insisted and I caved.

The plane flight was a mess, as predicted, I was seated next to a toddler and a mother. A new mother who couldn't keep a handle on her child. I was covered in slime by the time we reached Phoenix.

"Sweetie!" my mother screamed and ran into me practically knocking me over.

"Hey, Mom!" I was more excited than I thought.

"Whew!" she waved a hand in front of her face, "You smell!"

I pointed to the mother and toddler as they passed by. The toddler remembered me and stuck him slimy tongue out at me.

She laughed and we got our bags.

"Where's Phil?" I was curious, I had the idea that he'd be there too.

"He's busy. He'll see you later." She said shortly. My mother was only slightly better at lying than me.

When we were home and I couldn't believe just how unfamiliar everything looked, even my room seemed foreign. But I smiled and asked if I could have a minute to change and unpack. Then I was alone.

I opened the window and called out Edward's name.

"Hey." He whispered from behind me and gathered me up in a huge hug. He didn't seem to mind the smell until he placed his head in the crook of my neck and then leapt back.

"Change now." He choked.

"That bad?"

"Ugh." He replied and quickly turned away. I blushed to myself as I changed quickly behind his back.

"Better." I had barely had the word out of my mouth then he was over me kissing me and holding me.

"Edward. I have to go see my mom." I said after a minute. He groaned and left quickly.

Renee decided that the best thing for me to do was to go to the mall, she wanted me to have some light clothes for the weather.

I decided I liked the mall there, it was the one relief from the constant heat outside. We browsed and shopped while talking about purely girly things. School, friends, Edward and Phil. She still had a surprise but she wouldn't even hint at anything.

12 stores and purchases later we got manicures; mine a light pink, Mom's a simple French manicure. When we were leaving the mall I caught the first glimpse of him.

He was very tall and very muscular, with sandy brown hair, perfect blue eyes and model like features. And he had his eye on me.


	5. Mall Madness

**AN: Please review, even for criticism! Tell me what you think!**

_He was tall and muscular, with sandy brown hair, perfect blue eyes and model like features. And he had his eye on me._

I nearly fell over when I saw him looking at me. I righted myself and then proceeded to trip over a chair when my phone vibrated in my pocket scaring me half to death. I picked up and heard the voice I love so much.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey." I tried to sound breezy, which was hard when a kind of creepy model-like person was staring at you sprawled on the floor.

"What'd you do this time?" he asked fighting laughter at the strain in my voice as I got up and saw my mom practically rolling on the floor in laughter. I glared at her and brushed off my shirt.

"Nothing."

"Bella." He cooed seductively and I felt my legs wobble. Even when he wasn't here he could do that.

"I tripped over a chair." This time his laughter won, and I got an earful. That's when I discovered the true beauty of phones. I hung-up.

I continued to stomp away from my mom who was _still _laughing, only to find myself lost in a food court. I began mentally cursing myself and tried to retrace my steps only to become even more lost.

That was how I found myself attempting to ask an elderly woman – who turned out to be foreign and confused by English – directions out of the mall. That's also how fate made me run into the mystery-model. She pointed behind me and I turned and ran smack dab into his solid chest.

"Whoa there." He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back. "You need help?" he raised an eyebrow.

"No. I'm fine." I replied quickly and tried to turn out of his grasp, unsuccessfully.

"Is that why you were asking this foreign elderly woman directions out of the mall?" he smiled, his heavy hands still on my shoulders.

"I'm fine. I'll find my way and this time I did turn out of his grasp. I nearly ran away, surprised I could run at all.

Sadly he caught up.

"Come on. I don't bite." He said revealing a row of white teeth. I nearly fainted when I saw his teeth, however my fears subsided when I truly noticed how tan he was. Far too tan to be a vampire, tanner than me even. But then again this was Phoenix.

"That's okay." I keep walking.

"I'll show you a good time. Come on, some one as pretty and–" he was cut off by my cell phone.

I fumbled and picked it up, not slowing my pace.

"Edward!" I said too enthusiastically.

"Hey…what's wrong?" he sounded instantly concerned. I was frightened by the tall hunk standing next to me; I needed Edward.

"Nothing. How soon can you get here, I'm a tad lost." I explained like he was down the block.

"I'm starting now. I should be there soon." He hung up.

"Bye. See you in a second." I said to nothing then closed my phone. "Sorry, my boyfriend is coming here in a second. I'll be meeting him." I sped up hoping he would take the hint. If he didn't Edward would kill him.

"Well, how about we both meet your boyfriend. He won't mind will he?" he sounded doubtful.

"I don't think so. He's kind of territorial. Please leave." I ducked into a store and began browsing. He followed.

I began to think of ways I could avoid him and duck out of here. I did a series of what I hoped would be tricky maneuvers and then ran out the store and into another one. He was there in a second, smiling like the jerk he was.

He just watched me browse the clothes, which I flipped through blindly until I realized I was flipping through some tuxedos. I turned away and then discovered that I was in a tuxedo rental store. I ran out and into a worried looking Edward. I hugged him and tried to lead him away. Once again I was not quick enough.

Edward saw him and understood. He wrapped his arms around me protectively and glared at my follower.

To my surprise he held out his hand and said, "Hello. I was just helping your girlfriend out of the mall. My name is Keith." Edward shook his hand roughly and replied.

"I'm Edward, Bella's boyfriend." He glared even more icily but Keith who was (surprisingly) taller than Edward by a few inches gave a wry smile and eyed me.

"Let's go Edward." I said and tried to pull him away, fear crept into my voice.

"Bella, you know you would have a better time with me than with…" he looked Edward up and down, who was scrawny compared to Keith's pure bulk that you could see, "_him._"

Edward pried me off of him and stepped towards Keith. A crowd began to form.

"Outside." Keith spat and tensed his bulging arm muscles.

**AN: Now I am getting to the plot! Yay! Please review!**


	6. It's my party

"_Outside." Keith spat and tensed his bulging arm muscles._

"Edward, please no. Nothing happened." I whispered quiet enough for only him to hear. _Great, I'm in Arizona for a few hours and I've already made enemies, or…judging by the way he was eyeing me, at the very least a problem._

"You're not worth it." Edward hissed and,with what I could see was a great amount of effort, turned and took my hand, I exhaled harshly and we left. He took me to a place where I could see my mom, who was now sipping a Slurpee and looking around for me.

"Who was that?" Edward's voice was harsh and strained. I cringed, realizing what could have just happened.

"I don't know, Keith?" I replied trying to lighten the mood a little. Obviously it was a stupid idea.

"What! Don't joke! He could've hurt you!" He was near yelling and people were turning their heads to gape.

"Edward." I whispered and stroked his cheek, I had to calm him down and fast. His eyes were getting darker and darker by the second. Leaning towards him I felt him stiffen, and I gave him a quick kiss, which seemed to ease the tension. Goosebumps ran down my arms.

"Bella, do you know him?" he asked, his now topaz eyes, looking into mine.

"Not anymore than you. By the way, how did you get here so fast?" He narrowed his eyes a little and smiled.

"Bella I can run fast, remember?" He had an impish grin on.

"But five minutes is still faster than normal, even for you." I argued.

"I sprinted. You sounded like you were in trouble," his grin faded, "which you were." He added this almost too quietly for me to hear.

"Tonight I want to hear what he was thinking. But I have to go now." Then I got on my toes and gave him a kiss. I began to walk away and could feel Edward staring at me, so I put a slight bounce in my steps, and almost fell flat on my face. I turned and saw him giving me the biggest, and most loving, grin ever. I gave up on the bounce.

"Hey Mom." I greeted her as I slowly walked up, still red in the face. "Sorry, I was kind of embarrassed, plus I got lost." I said almost revealing the whole truth. She smiled and tossed the empty Slurpee in a trashcan.

"Well that's okay, I got the munchies and grabbed a Slurpee. Now let's go home." And with that we left the mall and I stole a final glance at Edward who was still standing there exactly as I'd left him.

Leaving Edward alone in the mall with – shiver – Keith made me a little uncomfortable but I couldn't do anything. I just prayed that Keith had left, or Edward.

Renee and Phil had a Honda; which was comfortable and roomy enough for all of our bags. We rode home and chatted the whole way, it was amazing how much you had to catch up on when you were gone. Then my mom started asking about Edward.

"So how is your boyfriend?" she asked cautiously.

"He's fine, he actually got me this cell phone." I said holding it for her inspection.

"Are you two still being…safe?"

"Huh?"

"You aren't being careless." She replied cryptically. Now this conversation would have confused even Edward, and he can read her mind, so I decided to get right to the point.

"What do you mean, Mom?"

"Uh…you two seem close. So I was making sure that you two are being _safe_." She emphasized the last word and what she was saying hit me, hard. I felt like a piano had just been dropped on my chest, because just then I forgot how to breathe.

"No!" I choked and saw her eyes widen and her face flush.

"Bel–"

"No! We haven't had the need to worry about being _safe_ yet." I clarified and felt my face turn an all-new shade of red.

"Ok. Well you know I have to check these things, you're both teenagers and, well, he's a boy, Bella." _Oh God._ I could feel a mother-daughter lecture coming on now. "You don't know the things that run through their minds and heaven knows that this is your first boyfriend, or at least serious one. We don't need you to get hurt."

"Who 'we'?" I asked.

"All of us." Boy, did she know how to confuse me. I found myself wondering just how long this ride was, and then I remembered that it was at least twenty minutes. I felt that piano drop again.

"Besides you shouldn't get too attached, he's a," she paused searching for the right word, "funny boy. You should see just–" I cut her off with a harsh yell.

"What! Not get too attached!" Suddenly I was yelling and waving my arms. "Mom, I can't believe that you'd say that." The piano on my chest was soon followed by an elephant, or two.

"Well honey," then she broke off as we turned onto out street. "Let's talk later. No need to be mad now." My anger was fading slowly but I was still pouting.

"Come on, Bella!" her face was excited now.

She waited for me at the door and I gave her a quizzical look. _Who understands Mom's anymore?_ I opened the door and was nearly knocked over by a loud screech coming from the living room.

"Bella!" was all I heard and then I took a step backwards and heard a wave of laughter. Finally, my senses came back and I saw a small crowd of people in my living room. My eyes swept over Phil, and some old friends from school. They were holding a banner that said "Welcome home Bella!" I gave a smile and stepped in.

"Mom?" She was beaming at my surprised reaction. After greeting Phil, my friends and I sat down and began talking.

"I'm surprised you guys came to see me." I said and looked them over; they had changed.

"Bella-boo! We missed you!" said Tiffanie and then the gang giggled at her rhyme. Tiffanie had this obsession with nicknames; mine was Bella-boo. Tiffanie was short and had long red hair, green eyes and freckles covering her body.

"Yeah, how could we miss seeing you?" said Brandy, she was the most changed of them all. She was now more beautiful then I could ever remember. She had black hair and deeply tanned skin, plus a body like a model. She couldn't challenge Rosalie, but she was still beautiful. The others didn't seem as close to her as before, but we had once been extremely close.

'Tell us about your new life!" shouted Meg, she was still as plain as ever, but beneath her boring appearance she was the most fun person I've ever met – aside from Alice.

Before they could all begin hounding me with their questions I heard a knock at the door and saw my mom open it to reveal, none other than Edward. I jumped up, _why was he here?_ But I saw my mom smile and point my way.

He was wearing a black long sleeve shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap that covered his face from the sun. All the girls followed my gaze and then sat silently gaping at the strangely dressed god who had just walked in. He walked in, removed the hat and gave us all a perfect smile.

I was frozen in my seat. _He was here for my party? Even with mom talking about how we shouldn't be attached?_

Brandy was the first of us to recover. "Hi." She stepped towards him, "My name is Brandy." I hadn't seen her for a while but I could guess by the way she was staring at him, that this was her flirting.

Edward, who could read her mind, quickly stopped her flirting. "Hello," he tried not to be alluring, it didn't work, "I'm Edward, Bella's boyfriend." Brandy was visibly crestfallen.

Edward looked at my expectantly. "Huh?" was all I could come up with.

"Introductions…" he reminded me.

"Of course. Edward meet, Tiffanie" I pointed and she gave a tiny wave.

"Meg," she broke her trance, jumped up and held out a hand for Edward to shake. He seemed to like her immediately.

"Jessa," I pointed to a short, slightly chubby girl with thick black hair and amazing blue eyes. Jessa, true to her personality, gave a quick smile and didn't talk. She was introverted, but very nice.

"And you already met Brandy." She gave a wide smile. Obviously she had recovered from his rejection very well.

"Can I sit down or would I be interrupting?" he asked and all the girls shook their heads so hard I thought it was a miracle they didn't fly off. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and sat down. Everyone quickly followed suit. I sat in front of him and leaned back so he was supporting me.

It was a fun night, we all went through our questions and proceeded to talk about normal things. It amazed me to see how much being with Edward had torn me away from my old life. I didn't watch the same television shows that I used to, I had lost contact from a normal teenage life. They talked about the latest O.C. and Gilmore Girls while I nodded along. I felt normal in a strangely detached way.

Later Phil came in with pizza and soda and everyone got up to eat. We had formed out own small groups: Edward, Meg, and Tiffanie, and Jessa, Brandy, and me.

The night was fine until I was reminded that I had to call Charlie tonight. I ran to my room and quickly checked in with him on my cell phone. Mom was on our phone chatting with a friend.

On my way out I hear Brandy's voice, "So, how do you like Arizona?" I knew she was talking to Edward, her voice had a seductive tone.

"Not as much as Forks." I could hear the tension in his voice.

"Really?" her voice was dropping.

"I have to find Bella." He was trying to back away. I turned the corner and three things happened very fast.

First, my jaw dropped when I saw how Brandy had backed him against a wall and was way too close to him.

Second, Edward turned his head and locked eyes with me, I could see the hurt and shock in his as he registered the hurt in mine.

Third, and worst, Brandy instantly stepped closer and kissed him. On the lips.

**AN: R&R! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon!**


	7. I'll cry if I want to

_Third, and worst, Brandy instantly stepped closer and kissed him. On the lips._

Time froze. I wanted to scream, faint, and (of course) hurt Brandy all at once. Instead I stood there gaping.

All of this was, for some inexplicable reason, going down in my memory. I will always remember Edwards gaze, hurt, angry, and almost afraid, as she leaned towards him, lips puckered, eyes half-shut. I would forever remember Brandy, in her short jean skirt and light gray tank top, on her toes, her mouth pressed against his.

In an instant, I saw Edward's eyes turn dark. My head felt light, and I swear I saw spots, I recognized the dark in his eyes: the thirsty dark, the angry dark.

Edward shoved her back, effortlessly but roughly, and I took a step towards me.

Brandy wasn't wearing that catty-girl-smug-smile I always pictured someone wearing after kissing another girls boyfriend; she seemed genuinely hurt by his rejection. Then when she saw me she looked a little afraid and ashamed.

I didn't move. I couldn't move.

I wanted to run and shove her out the door then down a few flights of stairs. But this hurt too much, my brain shut down and my legs tried to run to grab her as she fled. I ended up falling into Edward's cool, solid arms.

It turned out that I didn't have to 'shove her out the door', for a second later I heard the door slam shut and felt Edward's protective arms tighten around me. I turned into them, and looked up at his face. He seemed utterly disgusted.

"Bella." He whispered. "I didn't know until I heard you turning the corner and by then, well…" he trailed off, unable to explain how someone with lightening fast reflexes and the ability to read minds hadn't been able to ward off the kiss.

"That's okay. Sometimes things like that are hard to predict, I don't even think Brandy knew she was going to do it." I had finally found my voice. I was trying to reason for her, but it still hurt. Boy, did it hurt.

"Let's go out, people will notice if we're gone for too long." He led me back out and Meg came over to us.

"What was wrong with her?" her eyes searched my – normally easy to read – face for an answer. I looked down. I wanted to tell her, but not now.

"Later." I said and put a smile on for the rest of the night. I was utterly emotionless, reacting only when others did. I kept replaying that moment over and over again until I thought I'd gotten stuck in some kind of repetitive hell where I was forced to watch my boyfriend make-out with other girls. Well, maybe make-out was a bit much, but I was too brain-dead to realize it.

Edward didn't leave my side for the rest of the night. After that though the conversation was fixed pointedly on me, I thought it was to distract me from whatever they thought had happened. It didn't bother me at all.

However, there was a point during the conversation where after Tiffanie called me "Bella-boo" (for about the millionth time) that I saw Edward trying to hold back a grin. I glared at him and he instantly sobered (which left me feeling a bit sorry), and I shot him an apologetic smile. From then on I always saw his smile when she called me "Bella-boo." Needless to say, I began to hate the name.

After all the other girls but Meg had left, we sat down and retold the story about Brandy. Without the eye changing colors or mind reading details.

She nodded, "I thought something like that would happen. Brandy has been attracted to danger for a while now. Why do you think none of us have been great friends with her since you left?"

Both Edward's jaw and mine had dropped when she said danger.

"Danger?" I protested. "He's not dangerous." _Yeah, right._

She shrugged, "Well, you just seem…" she trailed off.

Edward spoke up, "Yes, I know I tend to give off a dangerous signal to people. I don't know how though." He feigned innocence, and it was believeable. Meg gave a small smile. Part of me envied his lying and acting talents.

"I should leave soon, my mom is still a killer about curfew." She said to me, then stood up quickly.

"Bye Edward. Bye Bella. See you both later." She winked then strolled out. I flopped back onto Edward in an exaggerated mime of exhaustion. He smiled and twirled my hair in his fingers.

It was eleven o'clock and I was tired. "Edward, I think it's time for you to leave now." I said loudly enough for Mom and Phil to hear. He smiled and understood the hint. We walked to the door and when I turned to face him he was looking at me lovingly.

I felt the shivers run up my spine and I was instantly aware of the few inches between us. It seemed as if there was an electric current between us, pulling us closer. Before I would have been wary but now I simply slid into his arms, enjoying the electricity and the endless waves of goose bumps as he trailed his hands up my arms.

"What's with the face, Bella-boo?" I realized I'd been smiling absently, and quickly glared at him for daring to call me Bella-boo. He threw back his head in laughter, then pulled me in for a quick kiss. After our good-bye he yelled a goodnight to Mom and Phil and left.

On the way into my room, I passed by my Mom.

"Bella." She called me over.

"Yes?"

"Did you have fun?" she smiled. I really didn't want to continue with this small talk about the party; I wanted to get to Edward. I figured all I'd have to do was act tired.

"Yep. I was glad to see my friends." I said and attempted to appear as if I was holding back a yawn, apparently I came across as stoned.

"Isabella…are you….did you….Do I smell drugs?" she sputtered then leaned in to sniff the air.

"No!" I said quickly and let her smell me for effect. "I'm just tired."

"Okay." She said cautiously, eyeing me apprehensively.

"G'night." I stammered and ran to my room. Apparently, that was another way to get out of a conversation.

I walked in to find Edward shaking with silent laughter, I felt that familiar heat rise into my cheeks. Which of course made him laugh more.

"S-stoned?" he choked, nearly out of breath, even though breathing wasn't necessary for him.

"Shut-up." I snapped and sat down on the bed.

He began to calm down and took to watching the blush fade from my cheeks.

"So, where do I start?" I asked and he looked at me wearily. "What was Keith thinking?"

"Keith first?" he seemed surprised.

"Chronological order." I explained, and he nodded appreciatively.

"Well, when I first came I saw you looking like a deer in headlights." He paused and brought me closer to him. So close, that I could smell his cool breath as he talked. "Then I heard the thought 'Is she trying to ditch me again? She's just shy, but not for long.' Then I focused on you and grabbed you closer."

I realized that he had edited the thoughts and I wondered why, "I tried to figure out if he was vampire or not, then I heard the thought, 'Damn, she's hot. Who's that puny guy with her? That must be the boyfriend. Right, like he can compete… She'll come to me soon enough'" he paused and took a breath. "That kind of made me angry. Then when he was trying to fight me I heard him think, 'He'll start outside and I'll get the guard to lock 'Mr. tough-guy' out, and I'll take her…' "

Edward paused thinking of how to edit this thought properly.

" '…away.' He was just being so cocky and I knew that I would probably rip apart the guard or the doors or Keith, and that wouldn't have helped us. I think I was able to stay sane because of your sweet voice." That shocked me, had I really helped?

"What was he really thinking?" I asked and he looked totally shocked.

"What? That was what – "

"Come on." Did he think I was that gullible?

"Well, it was that…but a little more…graphic." He carefully said each word, I was truly curious as to just what he wasn't saying.

"Graphic, like…" I couldn't think of the right word for a minute. "…X-rated?" I asked tentatively and he nodded slowly and gravely.

"But he'll be back, he was really interested in you, Bella." I heard him growl a little.

"I'll just keep away from him. It'll be okay. Besides, he can't challenge you." I reached my hand up and traced his jaw line.

He seemed calm, at least for now, and that made me happier.

"So, really why were you here? Was it because of the party?" I asked, reminded of my earlier curiosity.

"Yes and no."

"What?" I felt like I'd been more confused today then I had in my entire life.

"No, because I told your Mom that I had an aunt down here who wanted to see me. And yes, I came here to your house because of the party."

"An aunt? At the same time I was visiting. That's pretty lame Edward." I raised my eyebrows mockingly.

"No. Not the way I explained it. I said that my aunt had been wanting me to visit and it was vacation, and besides my girlfriend was coming down here. So, why not?" he shot me a coy smile.

"Fine. But then why didn't you take my plane?" I challenged him.

"Carlisle wanted me to finish my volunteer hours at the hospital for the summer." He shot back at me.

"Well…" I was stumped. What else was there? "Do you love me?" It was really lame sounding but, it was girlfriend-ish and I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to feel his arms around me. I wanted to forget about _Brandy_; ugh, and _Keith_; double ugh.

He smiled, "More then I thought I ever could love someone." And with that he kissed me. A wave of fire flew down my body, but not the bad kind. The kind that you got when you went down a really steep roller coaster. I felt like my whole body had been rearranged, in the best way possible.

Then it stopped. His cold lips pulled away from mine and I saw a small frown take its place.

"What."

"You scare me so much." He shook his head.

"How?"

"Your heart stopped for a second. We're going to have to be more careful." But all I wanted was for him to kiss me again. I wanted to feel the fire again. My attachment to Edward could only be described as an addiction.

"Edward, I'm not glass you know."

"I know." Then under his breath, "you're even more fragile."

"Am not!" I protested angrily.

"I have got to be more quiet." He chided himself.

"Or don't think like that!" I offered.

He sighed. "Well, I guess we should talk about it."

"What _it_?" Would there ever be a time when I didn't feel out of the loop.

"Brandy…" he whispered. Then my stomach dropped and I felt myself slide away from him a little.

"Um, okay." I really didn't want to, but I knew it had to come. Sooner or later, it would come.

"The reason I got up to see you was because I heard her thoughts and I wanted to tell you that – " he was cut off by my mother's scream.

I jumped and tried to run out to see her and found that Edward was holding me back, listening intently.

He cursed and let me go. I didn't even hesitate. I ran out the door to see why my mom was screaming.

**AN: A lot is happening but it will all make sense, just wait for it. R&R.**


	8. The Waiting Room

**AN: Thanks to all who reviewed. I love reading them!**

_He cursed and let me go. I didn't even hesitate. I ran out the door to see why my mom was screaming._

I had just made it out the door when I heard a thump that scared me more then the thought of James. I nearly screamed when I turned a corner to find my mother on the floor, conscious, but just barely. She had fallen backwards after screaming and was now sitting down the phone only a few feet away, I could hear the shrill chirp of a voice calling out to my mother from it. I ignored the phone and went over to her, but she was completely non-responsive. It was like she had just had her brain removed. Unable to get a response, I reached for the phone, fumbled it, picked it up again, and pressed it to my ear demanding to know who was on the line.

"Dr. Cutlass' assistant…who is this? Renee?" replied a timid voice. If it was a doctor calling nothing good could have happened. I felt a lump form in my throat.

"No, this is her daughter, Bella. What's going on?" I could hear my voice crack as I spoke.

"Daughter?" she said as if contemplating whether or not to believe me. "Well, we have your step-father, Phil – "

"Phil!" I nearly yelled into the phone.

"Yes, you see he was in an accident and we have him down here – "

"Where? What's wrong? Can we see him?" All of there questions came out machine gun style and the woman on the phone had obviously never dealt with this kind of situation before.

"Um, yes. He's here at Salvation Hospital and – " This woman obviously didn't know how to answer question's quickly.

"How is he? Will he make it?" Once again is seemed like she was never going to answer.

"Well, he's in ICU. He isn't doing very well, we'd like to see you – " More useless banter, I needed to help my mom, I needed to get to the hospital. Couldn't she talk faster?

"Will he make it?" I demanded trying to make my voice firm.

"Well." There was a long pause. "We're not sure – " I hung up.

"Mom." She was gazing at me.

"How is he?" she sounded like she'd just gotten over a dose of morphine, her voice slow and deep.

"I don't know." I replied honestly. "We need to go, now." And with that I hoisted her up and with her somewhat garbled directions managed to get to the hospital.

She rushed in with new energy that sitting in the car seemed to have given her.

"How is he?" she yelled at a nurse. The nurse made wide eyes at my mother as if she was waiting for another nurse with a big needle to come in after her. She pointed to a desk and disappeared quickly inside a room.

"How is he?" she was even more frantic.

"If your looking for someone I can give you a room number or – "

I cut her off; apparently I was not very patient when it came to nurses and their stall tactics.

"Can we see Dr. Cutlass?" I was trying to be calm, but it wasn't working. She glared at me apparently not happy about my interrupting her.

"Ask the third floor nurses station." She huffed and turned away, I felt the burn of anger and weariness rising up, searing in my throat, and in order to save a scene I turned on my heel and charged at the elevator, dragging my now spent mother behind me.

At the third floor the nurses seemed better prepared for frazzled guests; they kindly – and quickly – showed us to Dr. Cutlass. He was surprisingly tall, maybe Emmett's height with thick grey hair and a thick mustache. By looking at him, I wouldn't have guessed him for more than 50 years old.

"You must be Renee Swan." He shook her hand and looked to me.

"Bella Swan, I'm her daughter." He nodded and explained Phil's situation quickly. Apparently Phil had been out and had gotten into a major head on collision. Thankfully, it wasn't his fault. However, it appeared the other driver only suffered minor injuries, like bruises. That for some reason only made me angrier, he crashed into Phil and nothing happened to him.

Dr. Cutlass was amazingly kind to me and my mother, he showed us to where Phil was – he wouldn't let us in thought – and explained what was wrong and what was needed in his deep, booming voice.

"His heart seems to be okay, not great, but okay. He broke some ribs and it appears as though that damaged his lungs. One of them has collapsed and we are monitoring the other." By this time my mom was gripping my arm so hard her knuckles were turning white.

"Will he live?" she asked timidly.

"We're not sure." He sure was blunt, but right now I found that to be more of a comfort then a grievance.

"Is that all?" I asked, I was wishing I had Edward to hold onto, right now I had no one.

"No, he has a broken collar bone and a fractured wrist. His face took a little beating so he has a broken nose."

He stopped and took a deep breath.

"We need to do immediate surgery. It's risky, but without it he won't survive much longer."

She started shaking and looked at me for help. This, however only served to confuse me; I was supposed to look to her, not the other way around. Plus, I was about to start shaking myself, I didn't know if I could handle this.

Even so, I nodded and she managed a small nod. The doctor handed her a pen and some forms. She dutifully took them and started to head for the waiting room; still attached to my arm.

"Wait!" she called suddenly.

"Yes?" he was trying to go for the surgery but didn't seem to mind the intrusion.

"Will you tell me what's going on?" It was a stupid question, because everyone has seen in movies where the doctor walks out solemn faced to tell the family that things are or are not going well.

"Of course." He said simply and walked in the door, leaving us alone to fret.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be waiting, it was worse. Sitting in the waiting room my mother clutching my arm as though I was her only lifeline now, which I suppose I was. She was sobbing and shaking and mumbling under her breath. I listened closely, wondering what she was saying, and when I heard I lost my breath.

"My fault. My fault. W-why? I'm so sorry." She was mumbling over and over again like a CD track put on repeat. I felt my eyes water and pushed hard to keep it back.

"Mom?" I whispered and looked at her frantic eyes.

"Huh?" she raised her eyebrows, which only served to make her look more pitiful.

"It's not your fault." I don't know what I was expecting when I said these words, maybe a breakdown. Maybe screaming. Maybe I even expected an explanation. Instead, she shook her head and went back to mumbling with even more fervor than before.

"Mom?"

"Huh?" Maybe this hospital was on repeat, I felt my head spin and forced myself to talk.

"Why is it your fault?" Again she shook her head and mumbled. No, not the hospital, it was definitely just my mother on repeat.

"Tell me." I commanded, but my voice broke in the middle of my command.

She raised her eyebrows and then her eyes filled with tears and she realized I wouldn't give up, and she began, "I was in a snacking mood. I wanted ice cream, a certain kind." She sobbed. "B-but we didn't have any left. I asked him to run down to the store. We fought over it and he (like the great guy he is) ended up leaving to get the ice cream. That was right after you went upstairs for bed. And then the phone call, I was terrified that he was gone. And now he's alive and I can't see him." She was sobbing hysterically. I knew that people were watching and it made me angry but I just held me mother tighter for about an hour until she drifted into a sleep. I hadn't known what to say, I had told her it wasn't her fault but she only seemed to get more hysterical after that. I managed to disentangle my arms without waking her up.

I got up and went to make a call in the payphone. It rang once before I heard the voice I love so much. "Hello? Bella?" he sounded a little worried for me.

"Y-yes." I stammered, now he had me worried. Alice, I thought, Alice could see the future. _Oh my god!_

"Are you okay? How's Phil? I heard the woman on the phone after your mother screamed, how is he?"

I was shocked at his question. "You don't know?" I hiccupped and I could hear his confusion.

"No. Are you hiccupping?" he seemed even more confused.

"Yes, but you have Alice…" I trailed off and he understood.

"She's one a trip with Jasper. I can't reach her. Do you need me to come over there?"

"Yes." I whispered. I needed him now.

"Okay. How long should it take me?" He knew that if I hung up the phone after he got there that my mom would find that a little strange.

"It doesn't matter. She's asleep she won't notice."

"Bye." And he hung up.

"Bye, I love you." I said to no one, but I didn't want to put down the phone. Not until he came, I could myself breaking down. No sleep and a horrible night didn't add up well. It was nearly one and I could feel just how tired I was, and I thought I would collapse at the phone booth.

Then I felt his solid, cold arms around me. I crumpled into his arms. He picked me up like a baby and sat in the chair next to my mother.

He felt the stares from the few people left in the waiting room, and he looked up at them with a fierceness I thought would have scared a blind man. They all turned away and some even left, all of them looking ashamed at themselves.

"I love you." I mumbled just so he could hear. And I reached up to him; I wanted to touch his face. That always seemed to calm me, and I gently but suddenly put my hand to his cool face and traced his jaw bone. He seemed a little surprised but happy.

He cradled me in his arms and slowly rocked me while humming my lullaby. I felt better for the first time since he had left me. I felt myself drift into sleep.

I woke later when I felt Edward's body tense under mine. For a blissful second I forgot where I was, I forgot the accident and the hospital. Then I remembered, I was confused until I realized he was listening to the mind of the doctor. I was instantly tense and scared too, and I looked up towards his topaz eyes. They were unreadable. His grip around me tightened and his face turned painful I began to tremble and he noticed.

"Bella." He whispered. I gave him a quizzical look to which he shook his head and looked away to concentrate. After the longest ten seconds of my life, I felt him relax and look back down at me.

"Go to sleep, he's doing fine now." I couldn't stop myself from falling asleep again in his arms.

I woke this time to my mother's whispering. "…thank you for coming."

Then Edward, "It's okay, she needed me. So I came." He said simply and I could feel my mother's awe. She didn't realize just how much we loved each other.

I adjusted myself a little bit so that I could hear them better, I was too tired to open my eyes and besides I wanted to hear what was being said. He began stroking my hair, almost making me fall asleep again. Almost. I listened intently.

"Well, I'm glad she has you." She seemed to get choked up remembering how she was close to having no one.

"Bella told me his injuries from the accident." He said placing a slight emphasis on the word accident. "I think he'll pull through, my father is a doctor."

Had she truly paid attention to his words she would've realized that they held no hope for her. He wasn't the doctor, his father was, he didn't know anything about medicine (as far as she knew). But I knew that these words relieved her, especially him reinforcing that it was truly and accident. I loved that he could read her mind and help her in ways I couldn't.

I stirred a little and looked into his eyes. I saw him give a slight nod and I knew that Phil had lived. Had I not been so exhausted I would've jumped for joy. Instead I hugged him hard and then adjusted myself so that I was facing my mother. I leaned over and kissed her and she smiled weakly. I stood up and Edward moved to the chair on my other side and I sat down next to my mother. She grabbed my hand and we sat like that for about five minutes until the doctor came out. I felt a smile creep onto my face but I fought it back, I wasn't supposed to know that he'd lived yet.

"I have good news and bad news." Was how he started and I looked at Edward, who had also put on a solemn face while waiting for the news.

"He lived," and with that my mother burst into fresh tears; tears of joy. "But, he'll need to be monitored for a day or two, and even then it'll be hard getting him home again with his broken bones."

We were so happy that he'd lived that the bad news hadn't seemed so bad. He was alive.

"When can we see him?" my mother asked breathing so fast it could almost be called panting. She her face was excited and still the silent tears rushed down her cheeks and dropped off her jaw onto her lap.

"Now if you'd like. But," he said stopping my mother from jumping up and running into the room. "don't encourage him to talk, if he's even awake. We don't want to strain his lungs."

We nodded and filed into his room. The nurse almost didn't let Edward in but I insisted and Edward stared deeply at her and asked her again in his deep musical voice and she finally relented, seemingly charmed by him. It was enough to make me smile and give him a small slap on the arm.

"What? I'm in aren't I?" he asked teasing me for my jealousy.

"The only person you get to stare at like that is me." I whispered in fake anger. He laughed and pulled me up into his arms. Mom didn't notice because she was busy holding Phil's hand and repeating the words, "I'm sorry."

He put me down and I rushed over and grabbed his other hand. We sat like that for an hour and then my mother told me to go home. It was nearly 3 in the morning and I needed sleep. I protested a little, but then Edward agreed and placed a hand on my back while he tried to persuade me. I felt like jell-o. Wobbling I let him lead me out of the room and nearly fell over when he removed his hand.

"Do you need me to carry you?" he said with a smile.

"No. I can do just fine." However, I was having trouble standing still and he noticed. Suddenly I was lifted into his arms and he was carrying me to the car. I didn't even try to get out, partly because this meant I got the lean my head against his shoulder and stare at him while he walked me to the car, and partly because it reminded me so much of that day at Santa Cruz.

He kissed me and led me into and elevator where we bumped into the one person I had been hoping we wouldn't see.

Keith was standing in the elevator watching us walk in. Edward tensed and gripped me tighter.

**AN: I love reading your reviews, so please R&R!**


	9. Spam

_Keith was standing in the elevator watching us walk in. Edward tensed and gripped me tighter._

I heard him chuckle as the doors slid shut, nearly closing on my foot because Edward hadn't walked fully in. I pulled my foot away from the metal doors and Edward backed us to a corner opposite Keith. I buried my head in his shirt and inhaled deeply, attempting to calm myself. His thick scent hit me like it always does and I found myself trying to hold in that breath, as if to preserve that moment, or that feeling when I first smell him.

"Your not scared of me are you Bella?" Keith said coyly, I felt my heart sink when he said my name. Edward had only mentioned it off-hand, hadn't he? Or was my memory that bad.

When he spoke he stepped forward and ruffled my hair playfully, like he was my boyfriend, not Edward. I jerked my head away, a second too late, and heard Edward give him a deep, guttural growl. A lot like the one I'd heard him give James that day in the field. Keith seemed surprised and he withdrew his hand slowly. He stared first at Edward then at me.

"No." I said firmly and looked into his eyes. Here, they seemed to be a dark, brooding green that only reminded me of the trees in Forks. They made me shudder, I tried unsuccessfully to repress it, and when he felt it, Edward put his arms in a more defensive position, as if he was trying to block me from Keith. He didn't seem to notice the change and kept staring at me. I forced myself to glare at him, and I did. I glared with all the might and anger I had. I stared at him so menacingly that I was almost expecting him to break eye contact. Almost.

Instead I ended up glaring at him until a group of people crowded up back into the elevator. How slow did this thing go? I decided that since my menacing glare had probably been about as frightening as a teddy bear I would just ignore him. I looked at Edward – who was looking at Keith – and saw confusion in his wonderful eyes. I reached a hand up and touched his freezing cheek, his eyes came to rest on mine and the beautiful topaz I loved so much was fading to a darker brown. I looked around and saw how many people were crammed in the elevator.

There were four other people, a mother, grandmother, and two children. I wished that the elevator would go faster.

What seemed like an eternity later the doors slid open with a faint hiss and he stepped out quickly and walked even faster to the car. He put me down and got in the car swiftly. I sighed; I wanted that moment back again. The moment where for a while it felt like nothing could hurt us. Like nothing could change us. I opened the door handle and found him sitting there breathing heavily and when I sat down in the seat he stopped breathing altogether.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

Apparently he had held enough of a breath to answer, "Not your fault. But I don't know if I should drive you home." He said this quickly.

"Okay, then I'll take my car." I whispered and gazed out the window to the cars parked around us, there weren't many.

He took another harsh breath to talk. "No, he's out there and you shouldn't drive yourself." With this he had made his decision and started the car.

"I don't get a say in this?" I complained, not that I wanted to leave but it made me angry when he decided for me. Besides, if he wasn't breathing then that meant that he was hungry, and being this close wasn't a good idea.

"No." he said grimly and I knew better then to comment.

We drove slowly, well slow for Edward.

"What's with the driving?" I asked curiously.

"Cops, there everywhere here." He explained shaking his head sadly as if that was a bad thing. But I guess for him it was.

I watched as his eyes faded darker as he was forced to take another breath.

"If your really hungry, there's an angry raccoon that lives in the park near here." I said half-joking. "I know it's nothing like mountain lion, but beggars can't be choosers, right?"

He smiled and I felt a little of my tension melt away.

"Seriously." I said and raised my eyebrows. He turned towards me and gave me a quizzical look.

"Well, it's what," I checked the clock, "three in the morning; no one's going to be there." I reasoned and he shook his head quickly.

"But if you do, then you can back home with me." I reasoned and he pulled over.

I turned to look out the window; _no need to tempt fate_. I covered my neck with my hair as best I could and tried to take smaller breaths. My heart was thudding loudly in my chest; I wanted more then anything to touch him, to touch the strong line that formed his jaw. To remember just how cold he felt against my fingertips. But I couldn't do that to him, it would only put him in more pain from trying to restrain himself.

"No." he said and sighed.

"You don't want to come back with me?" the very thought made my heart sink.

"Of course I do. Bella, come on. I need you, too." That shocked me even more, though I don't know why. "I'm just a little angry now." He said and I swiveled around quickly. He blinked hard and turned away, still not breathing.

"You're not thirsty? But I thought….your eyes…" I mumbled incoherently. He smiled and shook his head.

"No, my eyes are getting dark because I'm angry," he gave me his famous crooked smile. "How do I explain this? When a person's happier don't their eyes seem….lighter?" he asked me and I nodded, enjoying watching him stumble over words. "Well, mine just got 'darker' because I was angry."

It did make sense, but I felt the need to correct him. "Furious."

"All the same, I'm sorry. I'm better now, your angry raccoon cheered me up." He said and smiled, his eyes smoldering even in the pitch black of the car.

"Really?" I said trying to ignore his eyes. I shifted in my seat and felt like the car was filled with electricity. I could almost hear the crackling in the air. But then again, it was three in the morning and I hadn't slept much, who knew what I was imagining.

"Yes, if only you knew how bad raccoons taste, its horrible blood." He said and made a face.

"That bad, huh?" I felt a smile grow on my face.

"Blech." He faked a shiver and stuck out his tongue. I burst into laughter at this, and he joined in, glad for the lapse from the previous anxiety. We were laughing until I was gasping for air; it had been just what we had needed to release our tension.

"Raccoon's," I said smiling, "the spam of the vampire world."

"Spam? Really the commercials say that stuff is pretty good." He smiled as he said it and I found my grin grow a little wider.

Still though, I noticed that he was breathing sparingly. He was staring at me with an adoring yet somehow unreadable look that he gets sometimes. I felt my stomach flip-flop and wished I had been able to at least comb my hair before he gave me that look, right now I felt anything but beautiful. Breaking eye contact with him was not an option, so, being the artful girl I am, instead of doing something romantic, like leaning across and touching him, I went for blushing and stammering insanely at him.

"So…uh…so, you're not breathing, right? Aren't you thirsty then?" Smooth Bella, smooth.

He seemed amused by my response and I realized that I was blushing so hard I had probably invented a new shade of red. I looked at the bright numbers of the clock, attempting to compose myself.

"No, like I said, I was angry, I still am." Then he mumbled, "He shouldn't touch you."

"Don't worry; I won't let him touch me again. I wasn't too happy about it either."

He shook his head in frustration and held his forehead in one of his slender palms. "How do I explain this?" he paused then spat out. "He stinks. When he touched you," his eyes grew darker at the memory, "He left his stench in you hair, on you." He said and looked away.

"Oh. He really stinks?" I asked as I rolled down the window.

"Horribly. Well, at least to me. What are you doing?" he asked as I started to position myself so I was slightly off the seat.

"I'm going to make this better, and maybe get his scent off me." I said and started to lean out the window.

He pulled me in gently, "Stench." He corrected. "But I don't want you hanging out the window like a dog." He seemed utterly confused by my actions.

"Well, think about it, the wind will clear out my hair, and help you calm down. That isn't bad is it?" I said a popped my head back out the window.

I could sense his confusion, "Bella, come back in the car." I pretended I didn't hear him and made a motion for him to go. I only prayed that he would go under thirty, we were in a residential area but Edward never cared about those things. I made a motion for him to go with the hand I had free again. I felt the car start forward smoothly and I closed my eyes. The cool air hit me and I remembered just how dry it was and it smelt so familiar to me. I was glad that this would also keep me awake; I wanted more time with Edward.

I pulled back in a few minutes later and asked him happily, "Is this better?"

He inhaled deeply and nodded, and then he took another small breath as he rolled up the window and I sat back down. His hand reached across the seat and took mine. It was a simple gesture, and by now I should have been used to, if not ready, at the very least, for the electricity that ran up my spine when he touched me. My heart jumped a little and I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye. We took the drive in silence, neither of us wanting to ruin this perfect moment.

Once we had reached my house and had made it inside he turned to me quickly. "Please wash your hair."

"It didn't come out?" He shook his perfect head and I glared at him and started to go to my bathroom. However, I turned a little fast and stumbled, of course Edward was there in less than a second to steady me.

"Walk slowly, Bella. Let's not tempt fate." He smiled and withdrew his hand from my arm - I hadn't even realized it was there.

I walked to the bathroom and quickly, but thoroughly washed my hair in the sink. I toweled off my hair and walked out again. When I saw Edward motioned for me to sit on the seat of the couch next to me. His beautiful face was solemn and I noted how the living room seemed to almost glow with his presence.

I sat down and leaned into him. "I need to tell you something about Keith." And from that moment on I knew I wasn't going to have a good day.

**AN: I know I've been slow, I'm so sorry. It's just been finals week. Ah! I have been studying like crazy. Also, this is a short chapter. Hopefully now that it's summer I'll have more time to work on it. Well, I can see I'm going to spend my summer fantasizing about Edward….Anyone else?**

**R&R!**


	10. Macaroni

**AN: I know I haven't been putting this on lately but I remembered this time!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters (that applies to and previous or future chapters!)**

_I sat down and leaned into him. "I need to tell you something about Keith." And from that moment on I knew I wasn't going to have a good day. _

"What?" I asked trying to sound prepared for whatever he had to say.

"Keith wants you, and he wants to beat me up, preferably in front of you." His face was solemn as he spoke. I waited for more.

"And…" I said expectantly.

"That doesn't matter?" he was instantly angry and pushed me back a little to look incredulously into my eyes. I was overwhelmed by the intensity in his eyes.

"Of course it does, but I knew that already. Tell me something else. What was he thinking?" I said carefully trying hard to not make him completely pull away from me.

"He was planning it – beating me up and winning you, that is. Apparently he knows you from before, when you lived here. I don't think he really knew you though – at first he thought your name was Becky. He was also surprised that you didn't instantly fall at his feet, he thinks highly of himself and isn't used to it when girls don't throw themselves at him. However, he likes a good challenge. He views our relationship as a challenge and wants to get you. I think that his prize would be bragging rights, at least that's how it seems." He said quickly his voice on the edge of fury. I watched as his jaw line grew harder and I wondered how on earth Keith thought he could compare to _Edward_; perfect-god-like Edward. However, as much as I wanted to reassure him and hold him close to me and tell him that nothing could ever come close to him, my mouth was, as usual, disconnected from my brain and blurted out my first thought.

"Bragging rights?" I asked resisting the urge to stroke his jaw and chin. He could make me dizzy even when he was angry.

"Bragging rights are – " I cut him off impatiently.

"I know what they are. But, what would he brag about. Ripping us apart?" His eyes grew solemn and he pulled me closer to him.

"Yes. It definitely sounds bizarre, but it's true."

"Why was he at the hospital?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. He wasn't thinking about it when we stepped in. He saw us before. But it does seem strange doesn't it." I nodded, looked up at him and watched his eyes. I could stare into his eyes forever, they seemed so full. Sometimes, I could honestly believe that I was seeing what he was thinking through his eyes. Now, they were like a sea during a storm. I could see the current and the waves of emotion in him.

"What are you thinking?" he asked quietly.

"That you are becoming more and more human everyday." I whispered back, my voice harsh to my ears.

"How so?" he gazed with even more intensity at me and I felt my vision fog over a little.

"Your eyes, I can see the emotion in them." I smiled and tilted my head a little. He blinked in surprise and I reached my hand towards his face, unable to stop myself.

"Don't blink." His eyes didn't move. Watching the war of emotions in his eyes made me realize just how much I affected him. I blushed slightly at the thought, and I saw a faint smile grow on his lips. Eventually I felt sleep pulling at me and I began to drift off. Half-asleep, I felt his arms wrap around me and carry me to my room. These same arms sent shivers up and down my spine from their coolness as he laid me down on my bed. I could feel his thick breath on my cheek, then, I felt a slight pressure on my lips as he gave me a kiss. Minutes later, I fell asleep to the sound of my lullaby.

When I opened my eyes I was on my bed, alone, in my dark room. I sat up quickly, my heart racing for no explainable reason. I looked around for Edward, he wasn't there. Calling out his name tentatively I gathered the covers on top of myself, as if for protection.

He didn't respond. I felt my heart beat faster.

I jumped out of bed and ran to the door; it was locked. I tried the light switch, it didn't work. I struggled with the door for a minute and then realized that it wasn't locked – it couldn't be, it locked on my side of the door – it was jammed. Panic rose in my throat as I ran across my room to my window; it, too, was jammed. I slapped my hand against it and it jiggled open a little. I pushed it up and removed the screen quickly and clumsily. I climbed out the window and ran into the street. Thankfully, the streetlight was on and I could dimly see my surroundings.

"Edward?" I called again. There was no response and I knew that it was a mistake. The hairs on the back of my neck rose intuitively. There was a cry from behind me; my mothers cry. I turned swiftly and saw my mother running towards me from the house. She was gesturing madly. Then, I saw why she was upset. Standing in the shadows near me was a tall silhouette. _Edward,_ I thought, and walked towards the shadow. It seemed so familiar, so welcoming, that I almost ran towards it. I touched the shadow and it pushed me into the light and stepped towards me. Suddenly, I recognized my horrible mistake, the shadow hadn't been Edward; it was James.

I scrambled backwards and fell over. My mother was still running towards me, but she wouldn't make it in time. He was taking another step towards me.

"Edward!" I screamed, franticly. He was the only one who could make it in time. The demon smiled wickedly at me and shook his head sympathetically.

"He won't make it. He never will, shame he didn't change you when he had the chance." My heart nearly stopped. James couldn't be here, he was gone. They'd killed him.

"No." That was all I could say, I raised my hand, the same one he had bitten before, in defense. I could see that blood was already dripping from the scar he had left. His eyes turned blacker and I let out a shaky breath, preparing for my own death; when he stopped in front of me, confused.

I looked behind me and saw Keith, in vampire form, standing there, the next second he stood in front of me. He was talking to James. _Protecting me? _I waited, unable to move. I could barely hear them. Unfortunately, I heard the last line of their conversation.

"Edward?" James laughed. "Gone; his family, too. I warned them." I felt a wave of pain wash over me. _Gone? Edward?_ I was shaking, I was screaming.

"Help, Edward. Please, help – " Then Keith turned and reached for me.

I opened my eyes; my body was being shaken, roughly, but gently. My heart was beating rapidly and erratically. I was covered in a sheen layer of sweat and, to my embarrassment, was screaming.

"Bella. Please, calm down. Bella." His voice was soothing and worried. I looked into his face, his eyes were light topaz. I swallowed hard.

"Don't worry I'm here, I'll help you." He repeated and pulled me close to him in a rough embrace. My arms hung limp at my side as I took in the pain of the dream that was slowly fading. He gently placed me back down.

He stared at me until he heard that my heart rate had slowly dramatically.

"Why did you need my help?" Normally, I would have lied in that situation. But the fear and pain of losing him – even only in my dream – hurt so bad that I couldn't think straight.

"I wanted help for you," I mumbled. "Not that I didn't need help myself."

"What was your dream?" I recapped it quickly and quietly, my brain growing hazy at some details. Who was it who had stepped in front of me protectively? Charlie? Emmett? Mike, even? Was it my hand or my head that had bled? How had I gotten into the street? I was frustrated at myself for forgetting.

"Is my mom home yet?" I asked while burying my head into his arm that was still resting on my shoulder.

"No." he was standing beside my small bed. I moved to the side so there was a small amount of space next to me. He shot me a coy smile and slid next to me. In a quick movement, I found myself on top of him. My head resting on his sturdy chest I looked into his eyes, they were filled with silent laughter. I realized I must've looked like a fish out of water for a second. I had been unprepared for that movement. I smiled and curled up slightly.

"What time is it?" I asked holding back a yawn.

"Nearly ten."

We lay together for a while until finally I knew I had to get up and I rolled off of him and stumbled over to the bathroom where I took a hurried shower. Then I quickly dressed in sweats, brushed my teeth, and went back into my room. He was sitting in my room rifling through my CD's.

"Hey." I said, surprised to see that I had startled him.

"Could you be a little louder next time?" he said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well, how much louder can I get?" I teased him.

"You could start by turning off the faucet." He accused and I realized that I had forgotten to turn it off. Though it was barely running it had been enough noise to cover up my movements apparently.

"Seriously? That's all the noise I need to cover up my own noise?" I wouldn't let him live down the fact that I had surprised him.

"I wasn't exactly expecting you to come bursting in here while the faucet was still running. Besides, I was absorbed in your lack of a CD collection here." He said defensively.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be?" I smiled and pulled my hair out of its ponytail and shook it out. Though it was still damp the smell had the same affect. His eyes narrowed slightly and in a second the CD he had been holding was on the floor and he was standing in front of me; his eyes playful. I sighed deeply and turned away from him, in a second I was sitting on my bed. I struggled to get up, he held me down.

"Fine then, you want to have a small peak at what that was like for me?" he whispered happily into my ear.

"No." I shook my head. Then he did something I'd never have expected, he tickled me. He pulled me down and tickled my stomach. I began writhing and laugh trying to duck away from him. Soon enough my stomach and face began to hurt from smiling and laughing so much.

"Truce!" I gasped wildly. "Truce!"

He stopped and I caught my breath. My face was bright red, and Edward enjoyed watching it fade back to its normal color.

I really did try to get angry, but his face was glowing with happiness at making me laugh. I couldn't help but let a wide grin slide across my face. In a second I was standing and he was whirling me gracefully around my tiny room. It rook me a second to realize that we were only graceful because my feet were about three inches off the ground. I started laughing again, I couldn't stop it. After an emotional night all I needed was an outlet to let me relax a little. Seeing me laugh he went into a few complicated twists and turns that left me out of breath and gasping for air as he spun me like a tiny top only to catch me again began flowing around my room like the wind was pushing us. I felt amazingly free, like nothing could touch me. He gave me a mischievous smile and then dipped me backward so far I was amazed I didn't just snap in half. I gasped and when he righted me and returned to dancing – all the time grinning an amused smile – and found myself sticking my tongue out at him. Then he began laughing, and it was so musical that I joined in. Soon enough we were just lying on my floor staring up at the ceiling; me, trying to catch my breath, and Edward, listening to my pathetic attempts. I was in a giggling fit and could barely breathe; just being near Edward had made so ecstatic I had nearly forgotten my dream.

As if attempting to spoil my morning – which had picked up nicely from last night – the phone rang and before I could jump up to get it Edward had it in his hand and was holding it out to me.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Give me a chance, would you?" and snatched the phone from his grasp. He smiled and flopped back down on the floor elegantly enough to shame any dancer.

"Hello?"

"Bella, its Mom." I instantly was reminded of the night at the hospital, and I felt ashamed of feeling so carefree before.

"Yes? How's Phil?" I asked my voice dropping an octave.

"He's fine; still knocked out. They say his lung looks about twenty times better." She said and I could hear the rawness of her voice.

"Good. Do you want me to go down there?" I asked slightly upset at the thought of returning to the hospital again – over the last year I'd had enough of them.

"No, honey, you don't have to come down here. I'm surprised you're even up this early. I thought I was going to get the machine. Anyways, I was calling to tell you that I'm going to stay here; I really don't want to leave him. I'm so sorry." She was trying hard to control her voice. I could see Edward's face tilt slightly towards me, but his eyes never left the ceiling.

"Mom, really, it's fine." I said soothingly, I would not be able to handle it if she started crying on the phone.

"I just don't want to leave you home. God, I hate ruining your vacation." She sounded so vulnerable and drained.

"Mom," This was making me angry, it wasn't her fault. "Trust me, this isn't ruining my vacation. I'd be just as worried if I was in Forks, only there I wouldn't be able to do anything. Besides, I'll call Edward and he'll take me out for a while to cheer me up a little." I felt hot, angry tears slide down my cheeks. I turned away from Edward to keep him from seeing me this pathetic.

We said our goodbye's and hung up both of us feeling worn out. I wiped away the tears and turned around to find myself face-to-face with Edward. His magnificence stunned me and I felt a small tear escape. He watched it slide down my cheek and drip off of my chin, into my lap. I wiped my cheek roughly with the back of my hand and looked down, ashamed of my angry tears. With his right hand, he raised me face so I was looking into his glorious eyes. He pressed his lips against mine softly and then stood up.

"You really don't need to be sad. It's all fine." I shook my head gently.

"I was angry, I tend to cry when I get too angry." I explained in a soft voice.

"Well, what do you want to do?" he asked, graciously dropping the subject.

"Um, let's watch a movie." I suggested. He glanced outside wearily and I clarified myself.

"In here. We have movies here you know." I looked toward the shelf where we normally kept the movies and instead found it full of pictures; some of my mom and Phil, but around half were of me, especially the ones I had sent them from Forks. A few even had Edward in them. Not knowing where to find the movies made me feel only slightly out of place. I didn't want to search for them and suddenly, watching a movie didn't seem that fun.

"Um, how about a little television?" I plopped on the couch and Edward sat down next to me. He propped me up so that we were almost lying across the couch, and I was resting my head on his chest. He flipped through the channels until he found the cooking channel. It was a cheesy show that was showing him how to cook steak with a red wine dressing. I found my stomach growling instantly.

"Let me get you something." He suggested innocently.

"You can't cook." I reminded him.

"Give me a chance." He slid out from under me and left.

"Thirty seconds of the cooking channel and he thinks he's Emeril." I grumbled sarcastically.

The first two times I tried to get up and see what he was doing, he had run out here covered in some substance that I didn't get a good look at. I wasn't even allowed to sit up.

After around fifteen or twenty minutes, during which I became increasingly crabby, he walked out carrying a steaming plate proudly. I looked at the dish, then at him, and then back at the dish. It was piled high with macaroni and cheese, especially cheese.

"Do you not like this? The show said everyone liked it." he seemed upset and held a hand to his head in frustration.

"No, no!" I protested. "I love macaroni and cheese. But," I paused and looked at the plate again. "How did you learn to cook it?" He smiled coyly and looked at the television.

"You've been watching the cooking channel." I said incredulously.

"Well, I have to learn how to cook for you somehow, and my family hasn't had to cook in a while so…" he trailed off.

I smiled and – much to his dismay – jumped up and gave him a kiss. Then quickly sat down and took a bite of my lunch.

I could feel his eyes watching me as I lifted the fork into my mouth. The second the food hit my tongue I shook my head.

"Bad?" he seemed surprised and deflated.

"Perfect." I said still shaking my head.

"How on earth do you do that? You can't even taste it and it is perfect." I mumbled and shoved another forkful in my mouth. He sat down wearing an almost smug smile and stretched his arm around my shoulders, nearly making me drop the fork. Hungrily, I wolfed down the food and then lay against him again.

"You need to sleep now." He commanded and as if in response my eyelids began drooping.

"No, I just need to lay here with you for a while." I fought back a yawn. He smiled and quietly hummed my lullaby and, despite my best efforts, I fell asleep.

When I awoke, the cooking channel was still on and Edward was watching intently as some woman with unnatural red hair showed him how to make the perfect sticky bun. I smiled and curled up into him.

He flipped off the television, muttering under his breath.

"What?"

"Those things looked repulsive." He faked a shudder and sat up. The clock on the VCR told me that it was past seven-thirty. Then I looked out the window and saw that the sun was, in fact, starting to sink closer to the horizon.

"I must've been really tired."

"You didn't talk much though." He seemed disappointed.

"What did I say?" I asked pretending indifference.

"You muttered something like, 'stupid perfect vampire' twice in the beginning and then you said that it smelled nice here, and nothing else."

"What did I say last night?" Again, I was feigning indifference.

"You were frantic and kept calling out my name, I couldn't wake you up. Then you screamed and asked for help." He told me quickly.

"Oh." He was staring at me so deeply I was afraid he could actually read my thoughts, that is, until he sighed in frustration and mumbled under his breath.

"What should we do now?" I asked to distract him. He glanced outside then back at me.

"Let's go out. You can show me Phoenix, your way." He promised.

"Does that mean I get to drive?" I smiled innocently.

"Fine." He agreed quickly and grumbled something about the police here. I ran to my room to get changed out of sweats and into pants and a short sleeve tank top. I threw my hair back and then I raced downstairs.

"Isn't hot outside?" Edward asked, eyeing my pants.

"Yes, especially after being in Forks for the last year, but I can stand it. Don't worry." I reassured him, and ran into the kitchen to grab the keys. No need to flaunt my scent, especially on a hot night.

In the car, in the dwindling sunlight, I looked at Edward and I couldn't have felt more safe or at home. I shook off any residual fears from the dream before and started the car.

**AN: Read and Review! I love hearing from everyone, it's amazing. Comment or criticize, just please review!**


	11. Mere humans

**AN: Yes, I know that the last chapter was a bit slow, but I'm just going to get it out now, so please excuse any slowness. I promise I'll try to get to the plot! Enjoy!**

_In the car, in the dwindling sunlight, I looked at Edward and I couldn't have felt more safe or at home. I shook off any residual fears from the dream before and started the car._

We started down the street and Edward kept my thoughts busy by asking me all sorts of questions; most of them about the details of Phoenix. Things like: "_Did those canyons in the distance always glow that shade of purple?" "Only at sunset, earlier they were a pink color." _

It was a nice ride, Edward barely even commented about my driving. About a half-hour later we arrived at my favorite place. Just outside of town there was an old drive-in movie theater. It was abandoned, so they never played movies, but it was an amazing place to go to relax. I had explained this to Edward on the way over. We climbed out of the car and sat on the hood, our heads resting on the windshield. After a moment of silence while I remembered all of my favorite times here, I had to break the silence.

"Look at the stars. There are thousands." I had forgotten just how many there were, it seemed impossible for the sky to be full.

"Your easy to please, you know." He said smiling. For the next hour, as the sky continued to grow darker, we talked about anything and everything that came to our minds. Then Edward lifted his head in alarm.

"What?" I asked panicked.

"Something's coming this way, a car full of people. They have an amazingly loud engine." He shook his head in frustration. "I can't even hear them over the engine." He concentrated harder, and in the distance I could hear a rumble coming louder. In about one minute the rumble was nearly on top of us. Edward jumped off the hood and started to pull me off when the car sped into the lot, nearly hitting us. The car skidded to a swerving stop and four people with bottles and cigarettes jumped out.

The engine was so loud that I couldn't even hear Edward, who was yelling something at me. I stumbled to the car door, only to see that Edward had jumped into the driver's seat. I started to stumble around the front of the car to the passenger's side but I tripped in the dirt and fell in front of the car. My ears filled with a ringing as the engine of the other car stopped. I scrambled wildly, panicking because of Edward's reaction, however, this only made me clumsier and I fell again. Then there was laughter, right next to my ear, and I found myself being lifted off the ground, I was instantly alarmed. Normally, this wouldn't have alarmed me – since Edward – but, the hand that grasped me, and the arm that was wrapped around my shoulders, were both warm. After being put back on my feet I stepped forward and found a strange boy there. He looked about my age, with short, jet-black hair and green eyes. He grabbed my shoulders and I whirled out of his grasp, only to face Keith; the owner of the warm hands. He was grinning and mumbled something like, "Well, look who's here."

I would've screamed had I actually been breathing. In less then a second, they had yanked me backwards away from Edward, who had gotten out of the car and ran – almost vampire speed – at me.

Strange-boy held me back while Keith stepped forward to face Edward. I looked around frantically for help; all I saw in the other car were two insanely drunk girls. One was smoking something and lying down like she didn't notice anything going on, the other was passed out on the seat.

Edward looked angry enough to burst into pieces, however, Keith seemed oblivious to this.

"We meet again." Keith must have been psycho to actually say this, or maybe just extremely drunk and high; though his words weren't slurred.

Edward responded with a deep, loud growl. This seemed to puzzle Keith and my captor.

"No!" I screamed, finally finding my breath, "Edward don't hurt him!"

"Hear that? Your girlfriend is afraid for me." Keith chuckled.

"She has good reasons to be." Edward was seething anger now. At this point I attempted to lunge forward but Strange-boy held me back, he was stronger then I had expected. I looked around again only to find that the other girl had passed out, her cigarette hanging limply from her thin fingers. My heart began to skip beats, I willed Edward to hear it and calm down.

Keith stepped towards Edward slowly, and I began to hope that he could sense the danger emanating from Edward.

However, he raised his fist just as slowly and I saw Edward ball up his hands.

"Don't Edward, please." I begged quietly, praying that he would hear me. "Leave him alone. It's not worth it."

His head tilted towards me and his face softened slightly. Keith chose that moment to strike. His punch came from nowhere and was aimed straight at my angel's perfect face. I felt my heart stop as his punch flew through the air, and landed on nothing. Edward had ducked in a split second.

Keith looked even angrier. Then I heard an exaggeratedly female voice call out from behind me. I whirled around, to the surprise of my captor, and froze when I saw who had called out.

Brandy stood in front of Keith's car. "Keith. Don't hurt him, you idiot." Keith didn't seem to enjoy being called an idiot.

"Shut the hell up." His face was turning red with anger. I looked to Edward who now stood staring between the two, his expression unreadable and furious. Strange-boy had loosened his grasp and I ran from him towards Edward. Unfortunately, I stumbled and Keith took me in his arms, holding me close to him. I could smell the alcohol on his breath and leaned as far away as I could. He leaned towards me and was only inches away from my face when I was pulled away into Edward's arms. I hugged him and in a fast human pace he ran me to the car and went to the driver's side. Keith and Brandy stood in a stare-off until Keith noticed that we were leaving. He jumped in the car and followed us after Edward sped off. I closed my eyes tight and when I opened them I saw the dim lights on the speedometer that told me we were going ninety-five, and Keith was behind us.

We were quickly closing in on town and I prayed that Keith would stop. Within three miles or so of the town, Edward stomped on the brakes and whirled around. We made a fast U-turn and he shut off our car lights. In the distance I heard sirens and I felt my heart flutter. Then I realized that the sirens were going the wrong way. We rode the rest of the way home in silence. Sitting in the dark car, I thought of all the trouble I put Edward into. Tears began flowing freely down my cheeks and I hastily wiped them off.

As we pulled into my house I could see that my mom was not home. Inside my house, Edward exploded with rage.

"What did he think he was doing?" Edward's voice was so fierce the house was shaking. He walked around the house yelling and muttering to himself, most of it I couldn't understand.

"Why was Brandy there?" I asked him when he had quieted a bit.

"For me." he whispered.

"They knew we were going there?" I asked incredulously.

"No," he explained. "Brandy went with Keith for fun. Apparently that's what Meg meant by danger. Anyways, she was sitting in the car, thinking that Keith was just in a little brawl, that is, until she heard you call my name. I heard her mind going crazy. She stopped him to protect me." He hung his head as if he was ashamed. "I shouldn't have let you come here. I shouldn't have. You should go home now. I'll take you, we can explain this as stress or something to your mom."

"No." My voice had grown hoarse and I was rasping now. "I have to stay, at least for Phil."

"It's not safe with him."

"Why?"

"Brandy and Keith have some strange deal or something. It has to do with you."

"He's only one human." I protested, trying to remind him of his strength.

"And you are an even smaller human." He reminded me bitterly.

"That's not my choice." I muttered purely out of spite. His eyes flashed a whirlpool of emotions and in a second he was gone.

I sat alone, brooding in my anger, for a few minutes until my phone rang. Even as I reached for the phone the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I was instantly reminded of my dream. I fought back a shiver as I put the receiver to my ear.

**AN: This chapter was short but I'm going on vacation soon so I won't be able to update and I thought I would leave you with I nice cliffhanger for a while : ) I am evil, I know.**

**R&R!**


	12. The NotSoLucky Tavern

**AN: I'm back and have been typing madly ever since! Thanks to all who reviewed!**

_I sat alone, brooding in my anger, for a few minutes until my phone rang. Even as I reached for the phone the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I was instantly reminded of my dream. I fought back a shiver as I put the receiver to my ear. _

"Hello?" I said angrily into the phone; if this was Edward he would have to come down and talk to me in person. It wasn't like it would take him a while or that he didn't have time to. He had all the time in the world, while my own time here was slipping away. Faster then I thought.

"Aw, babe, don't be like that." Said an amused voice that, like Edward's, was impossible not to recognize, but for vastly different reasons.

"Keith?" I spat furiously. My fading anger now replenished. I should have known it wasn't Edward.

"Who else? Did you think it was your boyfriend, Edmund?" he laughed mockingly at his "mistake."

"I wish it had been. In fact, I think it would've been better if it was anyone. Even a telemarketer or a heavy breather." I was so angry I was seeing red.

"Well, I can do that too, if you'd like?" he suggested coyly.

"No. How on earth did you get this number anyways." I demanded, talking louder than I intended.

"Don't you remember? You gave it to me." he chuckled and m jaw dropped. There was no way I had given him my number. I hated him, besides, even if I had given him my number I wouldn't have given him this number. I felt confusion growing as I tried to remember ever having said my phone number anywhere where he could overhear it.

Apparently he took my pause as defeat and, before he hung up, he left me even more confused and concerned.

"Now that that's settled, I have something to say. It concerns your _boy_friend, Edward. Meet me at The Lucky Tavern in twenty minutes." I stood for a full minute holding the receiver in my hand before the squawking noise reminded me to put it down. _Did I imagine the emphasis on the word "boy" or did Keith find something out about Edward? No. That couldn't be it. Could it? Edward did duck his punch pretty fast, maybe too fast._ _Or maybe Keith emphasized the whole word and I need to check my hearing. _Either way, I knew I would be going to The Lucky Tavern. I cringed inwardly at the thought of meeting Keith, but at the same time I grabbed my keys, and threw on an unnecessary jacket. I stuffed my cell phone into my pocket and ran out the door.

Half-way through the drive, during which I nearly went crazy with anxiety, I realized something. _How did he know that I knew where The Lucky Tavern was? _Then I remembered, and I realized how he had known everything about me so far. _Brandy._ I outwardly winced even thinking her name. At this realization I almost turned around, but I had to go. For Edward. I would do anything for him, and if Keith knew, or even suspected, about him then things were going to get complicated, fast. I pulled into the parking lot in front of the tavern and got out quickly. I looked around and saw a few dark figures near the front door, all seemed drunk and shady. I grew even more nervous and walked faster towards the front door.

The tavern was a small building out in the middle of nowhere almost. It was out pretty distant. Even so, I remembered knowing that all the high school students – well, all but me – went here for beer from the owner who never checked ID's. The building itself was small, made of brick, and covered in graffiti. It had two windows in front that were covered up and one door served as the main entrance and exit. I had never been inside before, but I had driven by it before, even with Brandy.

However, when I reached the door and pushed against it, it didn't move. I pushed a little harder, only to find the door didn't budge and was jammed. I was struggling with the door when I heard a drunken laugh from nearby and realized that I had not seen the sign above the handle the read in clear bold letters "PULL" My face turned red and I yanked the door open; slightly harder then I intended and fell backwards from the force of the door and landed hard on my behind. I scrambled up, ignoring the now full-blown drunken laughter and rushing inside. Apparently few inside had witnessed my epic battle with the door and as I brushed past them I saw Keith seated in a private booth in the corner.

Inside the tavern was dark and dimly lit. It smelled of alcohol and stall air. I almost sneezed from the offending scent. People seemed crowded into any and every seat possible. It was full, and I understood why the owner didn't turn away the high school crowd. The walls were covered in picture frames, some new some old. I saw a few with some famous faces the I was able to recognize. I also noted some jersey's and even two old, broken televisions sitting in the corners of the room. There were a million old ad's littering the spaces on the wall between the frames and the jersey's. I saw pictures of women with short curly hair and the famous I-Love-Lucy-type dresses holding a plate of cookies and proclaiming Kerner's Old Time Flour to be the best flour out there.

I rushed over and sat down. He smiled widely at me and I returned with an angry glare.

Above our table was a large picture of a coke bottle and a handsome man was holding it and winking eternally at the crowded room.

"Well, hello." He said as if surprised to see me. I was about to yell at him, when he held up one finger and made a soft shushing sound "Wait, the waitress is heading here with our drinks." Then a second later, the waitress, a tall leggy blonde wearing a scowl, plopped our drinks down with a thud and walked away. I looked to see that Keith had ordered us both beers. I shook my head angrily and pushed mine away.

"Don't drink? How…cute." He smiled and mimicked me by pushing his away too. This gesture might have been even touching had I not hated his guts.

"What do you know?" I spat out quickly. To my dismay he sighed and winked at me.

"What is it?" I repeated, throwing my hands up in a gesture of anger. I wanted more then anything to hit him now.

He shook his head, "There's something about _him_. That you should know, as his girlfriend."

"Then I probably already know it. We don't hide things from each other." Now I was challenging him and he knew it.

"Okay, then. But, trust me, this would have made a difference. I guess I'll have to go to the police with my," he paused contemplating the right word, "findings." He finished and pulled a twenty out of his pocket and started to stand up.

"No." I gasped. _How did he know?_

He sat down slowly and left the twenty on the table.

"Yes?" he asked innocently.

"You can't prove it." I challenged angrily, if he had proof, I could have Edward get it from him without Keith even knowing it was missing.

"No? What can't I prove Bella?" he folded his tan hands neatly in front of his mouth, waiting for a reply.

"Show me." I whispered; my voice now strained.

"The proof?" he laughed. "Why would I show you the evidence I have. You already know about Edward's…" he paused wickedly thinking about how to phrase it.

"Condition." I prompted quickly. I didn't want anyone to overhear this. One person knowing was bad enough.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you'd call it?"

I shook my head. "Then what do _you_ call it." he asked

I shook my head again. "Then I guess the police it is." He said and stood up again.

"Fine." I relented and he settled down in his seat again. "But if I tell you, you can't go to the police." I bargained.

"Deal." He said simply enough.

I took a deep breath and leaned forward. As I began to speak something dark moved into my peripheral vision and I jumped as if caught drug dealing, or something else sinister, which I basically was.

"We're leaving now, Bella." I heard Edward's musical voice speak to me. He was angry, but it didn't seem like he was angry at me.

I got up and Keith narrowed his eyes at Edward. I was about to explain what had happened between me and Keith when Edward yanked me out the door.

"What? Edward. Stop! What is happening?" I asked him slightly frightened. Unfortunately, Keith ran out after us and grabbed my other arm. Edward looked at his grasp and then at me. I knew what he was thinking, if he tried to pull me from Keith's hold, he would undoubtedly break my arm, or rip it off. He let go of me and walked towards Keith, who also released me. I stepped back and looked around. The figures outside the bar seemed farther away then before and I knew that they probably couldn't see us in the dark. I began to curse the owner of the tavern for not lighting the parking lot.

"Leave Keith." Edward's voice was trembling with anger and his fists were clenched at his side.

"Not without Bella. Besides I know all about your," he winked at me, "'condition'."

Edward didn't even glance at me just stood statue-like still. He rust colored hair trembled slightly in the wind, or maybe it was his whole body. I couldn't be sure. I was frozen with fear and my thoughts raced.

Just when I thought that it couldn't get tenser, Keith took a step forward and with a small smile – that I'm sure Brandy would've loved – he swung at Edward. Edward ducked it easily and his fists clenched tighter. I thought my heart was going to explode. I wanted to call out to him and tell him to stop but my voice caught in my throat.

"Your small," Keith said, amazing me, Edward was 6' 3'. "but fast, don't worry though. I'll have this over fast."

Then he took a swing with his right and instantly followed with the left. Edward ducked both, Keith seemed surprised, but instantly raised his leg and kicked him. Edward hadn't expected that and Keith kicked him in the knee. I'm sure he put all his weight in it, however, because Edward was stronger then steel, Keith ended up falling backward. Edward was over him in a second. In a flash, he had raised Keith up by his shirt collar, something I'd only seen done in movies, and throw him nearly half-way across the parking lot. Keith sat still for a second before jumping to his feet, his face red with fury. However, that second was all Edward needed to rush – faster than human speed – to me and start to push me towards the car.

"But-B…H-h…W-what?" I was incoherent with fear and just kept stammering random words as Edward's iron strength pushed me towards the car. I stumbled over the curb and in that millisecond I realized that Edward had pulled away and I fell face first into dirt. I got up quickly and saw Keith punch Edwards face. Only, Keith brought back his fist with a yelp and I knew he had probably broken his fist; it must have been like punching the wall of the tavern. Edward's perfect face was unharmed, and he seemed not to have noticed the punch in the face, he shoved Keith down and ran – now full-on vampire speed – at me.

This time instead of attempting to push me he picked me up and ran me to the car. I felt slightly dizzy as the door slammed shut and we pulled out. Keith was still sitting on the ground, only this time he was nursing his fist. We pulled out and Edward raced towards my home.

"What…" I paused again, suddenly remembering how to breathe, and took a deep breath.

"What, what?" Edward whispered in a strained voice. I knew that it was taking almost all the control he had not to turn around and beat Keith up – or to death.

"Why would he fight you?" I asked confounded.

"He thought he would beat me up and take you." Then he called Keith a string of bad names under his breath. I waited for him to finish before I started again.

"But, he knew about you. Why would he fight you?" I asked, still confused.

"He didn't know!" Edward yelled and slammed his fist into the steering wheel, bending a fist sized loop in it. Quickly he bent the metal back and cursed himself.

"Didn't know?" I asked, astonished at my stupidity.

"No. He thought that if he hinted around a lot, you would outright tell him that I was a con man or something and he could go to the police."

"Why did he think that?"

"Bella, you know I heard your entire phone conversation with him?"

"What? Why? You eavesdropped on me!" his topaz eyes looked at me and I felt my body tingle, I wanted to touch him. To run my fingers over his face and make sure Keith left no damage.

"Of course. I'd come back to see you and you were on the phone. You went like sheep to the slaughter. He tricked you." He shook his head, in a disappointed way.

"I couldn't help it! I was angry and scared!" now he fully faced me.

"Why? Why were you angry and scared?" he asked sincerely.

"You! You made me angry and then…the phone…I don't know. It scared me." he looked incredulous.

"The phone scared you?"

"Never mind. It doesn't matter."

"Anyway," Edward continued upon seeing that I would not elaborate on my seemingly unreasonable fear. "he asked you about me and made you think he knew about me. Why do you think he left that question open? You just jumped to fill it in – "

"No, I thought he knew and I didn't want anyone else to overhear it." I explained, almost wishing that for that conversation he had been able to read my thoughts, just so that he understood that everything there was for him. No matter how bad it had turned out.

"Well, he just used that to get you to tell him. That's why I went in. To stop you." He said he voice getting deep with annoyance, as if I should've known about it all.

He finished just as we pulled into my driveway and I practically ran out, I was near tears. I was angry and upset and slightly in shock. The tears boiled over as I yanked the door open. I wiped them away and collapsed face down on the couch. I heard the door slam shut and hoped that Edward would come and hold me. Nothing happened; I just sat there for about five minutes, each minute bringing new tears to my eyes. Finally I sat up to find that he was sitting in the armchair watching me. I knew I looked pathetic so I buried my head again.

Fine, if he didn't want to be near me then I didn't want to be near him.

I got up and walked into my room, fighting back tears as I felt his gaze searing into my back. Once again, I collapsed on my bed. I couldn't think of anything other than the fact the Edward didn't follow me. That he didn't care to comfort me at all. I felt my muscles aching from falling into the dirt earlier and I also felt disgusting from falling into the dirt, so I decided to take a shower. After turning on the shower faucet I was starting to take off my jacket when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I nearly jumped out of my skin and fumbled to answer it.

"Hello?" my voice was a harsh whisper, sometime in the car I must've lost it.

"Bella." It was Keith, I had the strong urge to throw the cell phone out the window for all the trouble it had caused. Instead, I lowered my voice – so Edward wouldn't hear me – and replied.

"What now?"

"Now that I really know about Edward." He said angrily. "You are going to meet me again, while we straighten things out." I wasn't falling for his stupid game again. How dumb did he think I was?

"What do you know?" I whispered.

"The he's super-strong, like steel. That he's super-fast, like the-speed-of-light-fast. And has amazing reflexes." He didn't hesitate.

"You just lost a fight, don't be sour."

"A fight in which he threw _me_ across the parking lot and then the next second was half-way across the parking lot. Really? The police would be interested to know this. Or maybe even your parents too." He threatened.

"Don't you think I could just get Edward to hunt you down." I challenged him, wondering if he knew how little I actually wanted to do that.

"No you won't. You were against us fighting in the movie lot, and besides, you're whispering now so he won't hear this conversation."

I was dead silent. He was smarter then I'd thought.

"Meet me at the mall. The entrance. You'll have to sneak away. Or else the video tape I have will be going to the police."

"Video tape?" I whispered unbelieving.

"The security camera from the owner, only cost a hundred bucks to get. He installed it recently to stop the grafitti. See you in twenty." He hung up. I would have to go this time. I eyed the small window over the toilet, it led to the backyard and I thought I could sqeeze through. I made a show of loudly opening the shower curtains and sliding them shut. Knowing that if he heard the shower and it didn't sound like anyone was in it he would come looking, I threw a small rag over the top of the shower head so it sounded like someone was in the shower. And I silently pushed open the window and shimmied out. Then I carefully replaced the window and ran around to the side of the gate. I noiselessly unhinged it and pulled it open. I didn't bother to shut it, knowing it would make a noise. I couldn't start the car, even if I'd had the keys. So I quickly walked down the street, the whole time I was tense, thinking that every sound was Edward catching up to me. Eventually, I had made it a block away and I called 411 and asked for a 24 hour taxi company. And then called them and gave the address of the house I was standing in front of.

Ten minutes later a yellow cab pulled in front of me. I had no money but I got in anyways. I told him to take me to the mall.

"It's closed ya know?" though he seemed almost bored by my response.

"I know." I replied lamely and with that he drove to the mall. He kept quiet, never trying to make small talk – maybe he sensed how tense I was – and I was grateful. However, as we drove by my house I could see that the living room light was on and he hadn't caught on. I congratulated myself silently and slumped against the seat.

Twenty minutes later, we were at the mall.

Keith seemed annoyed by my lateness when I stepped out. When I explained I'd had to walk a block away and then call a taxi he seemed amused. Then, sheepishly, I had to ask if he could cover the tab of the taxi. He grinned and threw a fifty at the driver who seemed instantly awake.

"Thanks ma'm" he said and drove off.

Keith shook his head and grinned, "Come on." He led me to his car. I cautiously sat inside and then he began the questions.

"What is wrong with him?" he asked good-naturedly, as if we were talking about sports, not the man I loved.

"Nothing." I protested. "He is _perfect_." I emphasized perfect.

"Fine, then what is he? Alien. Is his real name Clark Kent." I recalled my conversation with Edward about radioactive spiders and kryptonite and shook my head lazily, as if trying to clear the fog.

"No."

"Monster?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

"No." I answered too quickly. He laughed loudly.

"What kind of monster?" he seemed to think this was a joke.

"Werewolf? Vampire? Frankenstein?" he watched me carefully as he suggested these creatures. I am ashamed to say the when he said vampires, I tensed, ever so slightly. However, he noticed.

"Really? Blood-sucking?" This thought seemed to worry him a little. And I thought maybe I could reverse the damage I had just done.

"Oh yeah," I rolled my eyes mockingly, "vampire. And I'm Vampira, his dutiful wife!" I teased him.

"Really?" he was battling to keep his cool, apparently my sarcasm flew past him.

"No!" I sighed exasperatedly, hoping that he would buy it. He seemed to.

For a minute he looked at his hands, trying to recapture he aloof attitude. Finally he looked up at me. I raised my eyebrows.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" his voice was surprisingly deep. He seemed scared.

"Why? Do you want to see if I can eat human food?" I said placing slight emphasis on the word human. His eyes widened slightly and I shrugged. He reached forward to the glove compartment, watching me to make sure I didn't attack him. I nearly laughed. He pulled out a power bar and a water bottle. I took a bite of the power bar – which seemed a little too moist – and drank from the water. He smiled a little and instantly his attitude was back.

"Now, let's go." He was beaming now as I took another sip of the water, realizing just how thirsty and hungry I was.

"No. We're not leaving this parking lot." I protested.

"Fine." He raised his hands in surrender and watched me devour the power bar and water bottle.

"Hungry?" he asked innocently.

"I guess, it's been a stressful night." I said looking pointedly at him.

"Now, the video." I said and fought back a yawn though I could feel adrenalin pulsing through my veins.

"There isn't one. Even if there had been, it would've been too dark." He shrugged his smile widening.

"What!" my jaw dropped and I had to close my eyes because the car started to spin.

"Now buckle up." Keith said as he reached across my seat and started to place to seat belt on me. I attempted to raise my hands however they suddenly seemed to be a hundred pounds each.

"What?" I said lazily and took a deep breath, even breathing seemed harder.

"Didn't you ever hear not to take food from strangers? Though I guess we're not strangers." He smiled and as the fog closed in on me, I tried to fight it. _He had drugged the water._

Through the fog, I felt Keith's hand on my headrest as he backed up. I slumped against the window, trying to fight sleep. The car moved forward and the fog took me.

**AN: Told you this was getting somewhere didn't I? And I made sure it was at least nine pages! Ha! **

**Read & Review!**

**(My perfect Twilight song: MakeDamnSure by Taking Back Sunday! Though not all lyrics fit right, the chorus works perfectly!)**


	13. Pine Trees

**AN: Yeah, I know that Bella seems horribly stupid in this story…But keep in mind that it's like three in the morning again and she's had basically no sleep and an extremely emotional few days. **

_Through the fog, I felt Keith's hand on my headrest as he backed up. I slumped against the window, trying to fight sleep. The car moved forward and the fog took me. _

Slowly, my senses came back to me. The first thing I noted was that I could smell something strange. And not a good smell; I felt my nose twitch in defiance of it. Then I noted that I could hear a low, almost distant purring sound. My head was swirling, and then I realized that my head was pitched backwards. Was my mouth wide open? Yes, embarrassingly enough, it was. I wanted to close it but nothing happened. I tried to talk and still, nothing happened. My eyes were too heavy to open; it was like someone had glued weights to them. Suddenly, my last memory hit me. Inwardly, I began to fight off panic and struggle with my unwieldy body. When I realized it was useless – I was too far gone to come out of this – I almost willingly started to relax into my slumber again. I was exhausted from the last few days. Nothing made sense to me; all I could think of was sleep.

Then, a phone rang. I was jolted – to my distaste – to attention. Still, I had barely any control of my body so I focused on listening to the conversation.

"Fine." Said Keith's voice, it sounded farther than possible.

"Right on course." I could not hear the other side of the conversation, only Keith.

"No. He's nowhere near, not yet at least. But they will be coming soon."

"Of course, shall I keep her drugged?" Who was he asking? Who wanted me drugged and why?

Then, Keith mumbled and hung-up. I struggled and found the strength to open my eyelids a little. Instantly, they flooded with light and I clamped them shut in pain. I heard a small chuckle come from Keith, or was I imagining that?

Every second I felt my strength grow monumentally. A minute later I was able to open my eyes and snap my head forward in a swift motion. I blinked a few times and took in the scenery.

I was in a car, not the first car though – the seats in this car were cloth, Keith's car had had leather – and pine trees were dashing by my window. The sun was high in the sky and there were a few clouds littering what, otherwise, would have been a beautiful day. Then I found that the smell was coming from me. I smelled of men's cologne; the kind that makes most people sneeze. Keith was sitting next to me, he was wearing an amused smile and a new change of clothes. He had on a green sweater and khaki pants. I looked down and found that I, too, was changed. Now, I was wearing a dark sweater.

"You changed me!" I accused, though the words came out slower than I had hoped. But, before he could answer, I began talking again.

"Pine trees!" My voice was deep and I looked around shocked, there were no pine trees in, or around, Phoenix. My still groggy head dipped and I struggled to keep it upright.

"Personally, I like pine trees better than Phoenix." Keith said amiably, which only infuriated me. How dare he kidnap me and pretend like nothing had happened. "And, no I didn't change you. I only put a sweater on you." He shook his head in exasperation.

"Cologne." Somehow I managed to make that one word laced with silent accusations. Besides, right now, it was better off if I stuck to one word sentences.

"Well, I had to cover up your scent somehow." He rolled his eyes. "Can't make it too easy on Edward, now can we?"

"Huh?" As genius as my reply was, I was truly dumbfounded. How did he know about my scent. That was the only thing that Edward could track me with, or at least, that I knew of.

His only reply was to sigh heavily. I felt anger and panic building up in me. I was angry because he was kidnapping me and confusing me and drugging me. The panic and fear came from the fact that he was so calm and seemed to have more knowledge then I thought about Edward, also the fact that I had no idea where I was.

"Where am – are we?" I asked trying to control my emotions and gaze out the window.

"Well, I guess I can tell you that." He said glancing at me, still grinning. I was beginning to find his grin annoying.

"Are you going to tell me?" I demanded when he didn't answer, now I felt much more secure being able to speak full sentences.

"Not the exact spot but, I can give you the general area." I nodded in weak agreement. "Okay, we are now somewhere in the middle area of California."

"What!" I nearly screamed.

"Calm down. We haven't seen the beach yet if that's what you're wondering." Was he mocking me? My anger doubled.

"No, that's not what I'm wondering. How did we make it here this fast?" I yelled and glanced at the clock and then at the speedometer. The clock told me that it was two o'clock in the afternoon, and the speedometer read that we were driving at eighty miles per hour. My throat constricted in panic and I realized just how long it'd been since I'd been kidnapped and Edward wasn't here. No one was.

But how did he know that Edward wasn't coming, or almost here. He didn't and I knew that Edward was coming, he couldn't be this far behind; unless something happened to him. As soon as I thought that I regretted it, I forgot how to breathe and I felt my heart stutter. It hurt too much to think about. I kept myself from thinking about Edward's delay and I focused on getting out of here.

"Why did you take me?" Finally I got the question that I had been meaning to ask out.

"It's not always just about you. There are other people out there too." He replied, obviously he had the answer prepared.

"Who were you on the phone with before?" I asked, annoyed at his confusing answer,

"All in good time." He answered and grinned, reminding me of a creepy man from a cheesy movie.

"Could I get a straight answer just once, please." I mumbled under my breath in frustration. He smiled amusedly but kept his eyes locked on the road.

"What did you knock me out with?" I asked trying to get an answer that wasn't as cryptic as before.

"Sleeping pills, I gave you twice the normal dosage though; I had to keep you asleep for a while." He explained keeping his voice friendly. "Not that it was hard, you haven't slept in a while have you?"

"Where are we going?" I asked relieved that he was talking normally again.

He laughed heartily – he was genuinely enjoying himself – like I was a stand-up comedian or something. I felt my temper wearing thin.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you?" I snapped and despite my exhaustion I felt the need to hit something. Well, not just something, Keith's disgustingly perfect face. I wanted to give him a scar or at least a nasty bruise. See how _perfect_ (heavy sarcasm) he looks then. I had never hated anything with this much intensity, I felt my eyes fill with hot tears and I fought to keep them back. Of course, I was one of those people who had to cry when I got angry. But I refused to look pathetic or weak in front of Keith at all, with this in mind I held back the tears.

"Nothing's _wrong_ with me. And I can't tell you where were going." his smile held strong and he glanced at me, his eyebrows high on his forehead.

It was only then that I realized something that I had seen earlier, it was like it had taken five minutes to compute in my brain.

"Slow down!" I screeched.

"Huh?" he was honestly surprised at my outburst.

"You're going eighty miles an hour! Were you dropped on your head as a child? You'll kill us both going this fast! Slow down!" He calmed down and lowered the speed to sixty.

"What the hell, we're ahead of schedule anyways." He shrugged and the speedometer needle stayed put at sixty.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Then, against my will, my stomach gurgled hungrily. I blushed and looked out the window.

"Hungry?" he said and gestured towards the glove compartment.

"How stupid do you think I am? I refuse to eat anything from the inside of this car." I vowed and tried to ignore my hunger.

"Suit yourself." He said and continued to drive silently.

I had to escape, and once I was in the open I would call Edward. That was the outline of my plan. I looked at him and with a lucky glance I saw to rest of the gauges behind the steering wheel. The fuel gauge happened to be closer to empty than it was to full. It would most likely last a while longer but he would have to stop probably sometime in the next hour. I silently congratulated myself and the rest of my plan fell into place.

**AN: Wow, I'm sorry about the delay, I got back from one vacation, was home for like three days and then left AGAIN! For over a week! And being me, I didn't have to foresight to bring my laptop. Sigh. And I really wanted to get this out, I promise the next chapter will be longer. Anyways please R&R. I'm getting nearer to the end of this!**


	14. Gas 'N Go

**AN: Don't worry! All the weirdness in the story will be explained! Have patience!**

_I silently congratulated myself and then the rest of my plan fell into place._

I turned towards the window with a huff so he knew that I didn't want to talk, not that he would, and stared at the seemingly endless line of pine trees.

After a few minutes I realized that I'd fallen into a daze. This wasn't going to be as easy as I'd hoped. I barely managed to stifle a yawn and stretched. I knew he had seen me yawn, I could almost hear the smile on his face. He thought I was giving up, what an idiot. I knew it wouldn't be hard to outsmart Keith.

So, after what seemed like an eternity, but what I counted to be around ten minutes, I pretended to fall asleep. I acted as best I could, though I knew it wouldn't be easy; let's face it, I'm not a convincing actress. I was guessing that he hadn't fallen for it. If he had he would have started to speed up again. Or, so I hoped. I focused so hard on trying to be still, and relax my muscles that I actually did fall asleep. Relaxing myself while I was still full of extra sleeping pills probably wasn't the best idea. However, I was lucky; I only fell into a light sleep. I woke up as he started to exit the freeway. I opened my eyes to slits as he slowed to a stop.

We were in a small little Gas-N-Go place. The store was medium sized, probably because it was the only thing out here for truckers and travelers to go to. It was brick and the pale yellow paint on it was chipped in places and fading. It was obviously some kind of "Mom and Pop" store, locally owned. I saw a few ads covering the windows of the shop. About twenty feet around the edge of the store, the forest had reclaimed its territory. The dumpster was five feet into the new growth of forest and it was gaining on the bathrooms, which were located across from the dumpster nestled against the building. I saw no other places around, only what seemed like forest for miles and miles. Whoever worked here didn't live here.

This meant I had two choices: First, I could run into the woods and towards the highway and hope to stop someone with a cell phone, this choice had a few downsides; with my luck I would get picked up by a pervert or serial killer of some kind. Or I wouldn't get picked up at all, and Keith would find me. Second, I could hide in the woods and when I was sure Keith had gone to look for me and wasn't near me, I could run to the store and use their phone to call Edward, then maybe 911. I would definitely go with the second choice. That way at least if Keith found me I could put up a big fight and hopefully the owners would notice and come to help me.

Neither choice was perfect, but they were good enough for now.

I listened as the car shut off and the door opened and closed, then, to my dismay, he locked the doors. This wasn't going to be as easy. I slowly turned my head and saw that he was walking quickly into the gas station's small shop. Maybe he was going to get more food to drug me with. I didn't care, I unlocked and opened the door quietly and crept out. I left the door barely ajar, afraid it would make too much noise and alert him. I didn't know if he was watching from the store, so as soon as I was out I ran, full sprint – or more like a quick wobble thanks to the pills – towards the back of the store. I stumbled once and nearly cracked my head open on the cement. My arm took the grunt of the fall, but it was only scraped up. Before I had time to process the pain in my arm I was up and running again.

I made it into the woods, only then did I chance a look behind me. I was out of breath from exhaustion and the tumble but I kept running as I looked. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Keith was still in the store. I had made it. I turned back around and smacked into something. Hard. But before I could hit the floor I was being held up, the thought _Edward_ crossed my mind in relief. A second later most everything was painfully obvious. I felt stupid for not seeing it before.

Keith had caught me.

Keith's face looked both amused and annoyed at first. Then he stood me back up and glared furiously at me. Now he only looked angry.

"Don't you ever try that again." He whispered wrathfully. I couldn't speak; I was petrified and astounded at the same time.

"Do that again and after this is done I might just return to Phoenix to visit some relatives in the hospital. Maybe even Forks." His anger was fading, though he was obviously forcing himself to be calm.

I could only stare blankly at him. I understood it all, but now it all seemed so obvious. I was silent as he led me, roughly, back to the car. He sat me down and drove off; apparently the tank was full now.

When we got in the car I looked at him again, his tan was faded, but still there; his eyes were blue, just like on the first day I met him. But he _was_ a vampire. Color contacts could explain the eyes, but what about the tan? Was that his ability? Or was that his ethnicity? Nothing made sense to me.

"How did you…? How are you…?" I couldn't make my confusion form sentences. I wanted to ask everything at once.

He took a deep breath.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain everything this early, but I can if I need to. Besides, I'm guessing that this ride will be easier without your idiotic escape attempts. Well, first off, I'm guessing you want to know about my appearance. Obviously, my eyes are blue because I'm wearing color contacts. There was one time when I slipped up though. However, it didn't seem like you or your boyfriend noticed. The one time in the hospital, remember, in the elevator?" I thought back and remembered how his eyes had reminded me of the trees in Forks. I felt even stupider. "Anyways, the tan, well that was hard. It takes a constant application of spray on tans. Though, they tend to rub off my skin pretty easily, I managed to make it work. That was another thing, I could never bump into you in broad daylight, this stuff doesn't cover up my skin problem very well." That explained why I had met him in the mall, when I was with my mom. And in the hospital, and only in the open at night, my face burned red with shame. How could I have not seen it? "Now I know you're wondering why I'm taking you. But I can't give away all the surprises just yet. Another thing I thought would prove hard was obviously the fact that I have no heart beat. So when I first met him in the mall I made sure that he wouldn't be paying any attention to that fact. I threw some pretty good thoughts his way. I could tell he was getting angrier. And, the fact that he didn't want to fight me made it obvious that thought I was human. Any questions?"

"How did you throw off Edward? And how can you be so sure that he isn't near here?" I was secretly hoping that he hadn't been thrown off, that he was near, that me being out in the open had helped him find me.

He smiled, "Good question." Obviously he liked to brag about himself. "Well, it was hard to get you away from him in the first place. But that's another story; I bet you were amazed at how easily you escaped him." He laughed. "Anyways, when I got you in the car and knocked you out, I cut you hair." He smiled and waited for my response. I felt myself tense, I loved my hair; it was thick and brown and reached down to my back. Hesitantly I reached up and felt it, he was telling the truth, now it reached to just around my shoulders. Somehow among the earlier panic I hadn't noticed it. I just sat there, trying hard to keep myself calm. He continued, "Then I handed it to my friend, he taped it to the headrest of his car left the passenger side window cracked open and drove off north to flagstaff. Your boyfriend probably has realized that it's a fake by now. And he'll be on us soon, just not soon enough." He smiled.

"What do you mean, 'I was amazed at how easily I escaped him'?"

"Obviously you couldn't get away from him yourself. So I waited outside your home. Just as you called the taxi he noticed you were gone. Whatever you had rigged to the shower had fallen and he had heard the steady fall of the water for a while and knew you weren't in it. He ran to the bathroom and when he found the open window and you gone, he flipped out. He ran out of the house and I had to intervene." I interrupted him.

"How did you know what he was doing?"

"That's my ability, as a human I was able to sense people in a room. Now, I can sense where people – or vampires – are, like blips on a radar screen I guess. But only to a point" He was proud of himself and I felt disgusted, all earlier feeling of hunger vanished. He didn't even seem to mind being interrupted. "Anyways, I 'took a walk' around your block and made sure to run into him before he made it to you. It wasn't too hard to distract him. All I had to do was act surprised and cocky. Plus I had to think about you and some made up story about us meeting at the drive-in. Also, about how glad I was that I had convinced you to sneak out, and I how I thought I was going to pick you up but you must have left without me. All the while I was telling him that I was taking a walk, how was I to know that it was your block. He seemed angry and a bit suspicious, but who knows if that was just to let me know that he was on to my fake plan. Then I thought 'Well, I should get to my car, I want to be there when she gets there.' And I ran off giving Edward some lame excuse about jogging." As soon as I'd made it out of sight he was off, he took the car though. Why, I can't imagine. But it helped me. I ran back to the mall and met you. By the time I was gone and my friend was headed north he had just arrived at the drive-in and probably figured we'd left." We were interrupted by his phone vibrating.

"Didn't want it to wake you up at the gas station." He said and we both caught the irony in it.

"Hello." He said to the caller, then he said something so quickly and quietly all I saw was his lips blurring in motion for a second.

"Yes." He said in a normal voice, and then went back to talking quickly.

A second later he hung up.

"Edward left the decoy a while back. He should be getting to us soon enough." He smiled.

"What about Brandy?" I asked remembering her brief appearance with Keith at the drive-in.

"I didn't hurt her. I wasn't allowed to." He sounded annoyed by that, and it scared me. "Well, when I first came here I met her in the mall and she came up to me. It was strange, considering that most people seem to be afraid of me. But there are rare exceptions and Brandy was one of them. She started hitting on me. She gave me her number but I kind of brushed her off. She left and I sensed her go to your house. I called her that night. She helped me know things about you. Also, I made her kiss Edward. But she didn't mind, she genuinely began to like him. I had told her that I wanted to get back at him for stealing you from me and I needed to break them up. She offered almost. Then at the drive-in, she was stupid. She got herself arrested going after you guys."

"That was her that chased us?" I asked astounded.

"Do you think that I would chase you in a car and get caught when I could sense the cops? Or when I could run just as fast? Anyways, she called me to bail her out. She knew I was rich. I hung up the phone on her." He shook his head disgusted. "Like I would bail her out. She went after to try to make peace with Edward, and also to try to speed along the break-up. She wanted him. I knew she wouldn't get him, so I let it go on." He explained.

"How did you know that Edward could read thoughts?" I asked, still trying to piece things together. Nothing made sense.

"We have ways of knowing these things." He replied, and I could tell he enjoyed frustrating me.

"We?" I asked raising my eyebrows. All he did in response was smile.

"How long till we reach…where ever we're going?" I asked frustrated again.

"Not long at all. By the way you smell delicious." He smiled and glanced at me. A shiver ran down my spine and I felt fear. I knew he was referring to my scraped up arm, which had started to bleed a little. The phrase, "the beginning of the end" ran through my head. I began to fidget slightly in my seat.

He laughed, "I can hear your heart, you know? It's skipping beats."

I swallowed and looked out the window. I still had questions but I had to calm myself down first, I wouldn't allow him to outwardly see my panic.

"If that's what happens when you first get scared." He said, "I can't wait to see what happens when we arrive."

Panic tightened my throat. _Edward,_ I prayed, _find me._

**AN: That was by far my favorite chapter to type up because EVERYTHING finally came out. Well, most everything. **

**Anyways, R&R!**


	15. Arrival

_Panic tightened my throat. _Edward_, I prayed, _findme

I took a deep breath – or at least attempted one – and tried to calm myself. Nothing around me seemed real. It was all logical and rational – painfully so – but, I couldn't convince myself to get into the fight-or-flight frame of mind.

"At least tell me what we're going to." I demanded, though my mouth was dryer than I had thought and my voice was harsh.

"_What _we're going to? Like a house? An apartment? A grave in the middle of the woods?" I knew that he had thrown in that last option to scare me, and I refused to let it work.

"Yes. _What_ are we going to?" I said pronouncing each syllable carefully as if he was slow.

"Well, look for yourself." He said and suddenly jerked the wheel to the right, off the highway. But to my surprise there was no crash or anything, just a small dip as we turned onto a small road. It obviously hadn't been used for a while.

I swallowed slowly, and a cool rush of fear ran up my spine. After a few moments of bumpy driving he stopped the car and the next second was hoisting me out of my seat. I fought back but it was impossible to resist; his grip on me was like steel. He pushed me forward through the trees and undergrowth. I tried my best to slow him down and was surprised when he stopped moving.

Then he whirled me around so I was facing him. And despite my best efforts to lean away, I was far too close to him for my own comfort. He yanked my left hand from my side and in a swift motion pulled out a pocket knife and left a thin cut across my palm. I stared at it as the blood blossomed up from the slice and he continued our journey again.

As we walked – or, as he pushed me along – I flashed back to the time after I got lost and was nearly attacked (or worse) by a group of thugs; I remembered Edward asking me when I was going to scream. So I took a deep breath and did just as I should. The only problem was that my voice was rawer then I had thought so it hadn't been as piercing as I'd hoped. And also, merely a second after I had started he had clamped his hand down over my mouth. And not gently either, I felt like maybe he loosened a tooth or two.

We turned left after passing a giant pine tree and I saw it.

A small log cabin type of house; it was very cozy looking. I couldn't help but have my hopes rise for a moment. This place seemed so disarming. But, then again, maybe that was why Keith had chosen it. Or was it really Keith that had chosen it? He was just a pawn right? Someone else was the leader, someone else hated me. The hairs on my arms raised and I felt like I was being pushed through the ocean. Wave after wave of emotion came splashing down on me every second; giving no warning other then the rumbling in my ears.

It seemed to take no time at all to reach the door of the cottage. It had no fancy porch or entrance and it looked a little small for a two-story house. However, when he reached past me and opened the door I saw the inside and was blown away.

It was so open on the inside. It had light blue flower wallpaper in the main room – which he promptly led me into – and an off-white couch in the center of the room. The décor was sparse but cozy, and antique-looking, only making the room seem more spacious. Past this room I could see into a modest looking kitchen. Splayed across the walls were pictures of a family in different events and stages of life. Behind me were the stairs leading to what I was guessing would be bedrooms.

Abruptly, Keith shoved me onto the couch and I had a chance to study the picture on the table next to me as he planned his next move. It showed five people, presumably a family, and though I didn't immediately recognize them, the eldest daughter looked vaguely familiar. I tore my eyes off the picture and watched as Keith walked towards me, wearing a wicked grin.

"What now?" I choked on the last word; or, to be more exact, Keith choked me on the last word. His hand clamped firmly on my neck and I thought that that would be the end of my life. One sharp crack and I would be no more. He picked me off the couch, and in a futile movement of defense I kicked at him and raised my hand to my neck. He laughed in my face and threw me at the stairs. I landed hard on my right side. After the shock wore off I began gasping for breath; being thrown by the neck does not do a windpipe good, trust me.

I braced myself against the stair rails and tried to get up, my side protested but I made it. Keith was instantly next to me. He grabbed my right hand and I found that my arm was also in extreme pain. He took my hand and squeezed it, I heard the bones cracking and instantly the pain in my arm was gone. Now I had a broken hand. That was all I could feel, well, that and a dull throbbing in my throat.

I stumbled back mid-scream and fell against the stairs again, using my good hand to break my fall. He grinned viciously and reached for my left hand. Then, as if I had broken out in boils, he recoiled and left me to stand at the foot of the stairs. Instantly the door was broken through and I saw two figures race into the room. I recognized them both.

_Rosalie and Edward. _

Edward leapt across the room – growling quite ferociously – towards Keith and Rosalie came to me. But before she could say anything Jasper and Emmett came crashing in.

"You're alive. Thank God." Though she seemed more annoyed by having to rescue me than she did grateful that I was alive. She shook her head and quickly looked at my and my hand, which looked like it had been run over by a cement truck, and rolled her eyes angrily.

Still, she didn't leave my side as we watched the fight progress, I guess she was the one they elected to guard me. Keith was about the size of Emmett and the four of them were really having a go of it, though you could tell Keith was struggling a little.

I felt myself relax, _this is over_, I thought, _the Cullen's are here and they definitely outnumber Keith. _

However, the next second the room was full of vampires. Instantly one woman with jet black hair and a nasty nose ring was holding me back, and she didn't care about my injuries. I looked towards Rosalie but she was struggling against two vampires; a man and a woman who looked normal, but obviously were stronger than Rosalie. She was quickly subdued and I looked towards Edward. He and Emmett and Jasper were being held back my seven vampires. I felt sick when I saw Keith standing in the room brushing off his shoulders. Then I noticed that a congregation of vampires where holding back Carlisle and Esme. I lost the ability to breathe. The whole Cullen family was here, trapped. All , except Alice.

"Alice." I croaked, though I hadn't meant to say it out loud. I saw Carlisle and Esme look at me and then at the floor. My heart jumped. Apparently it was loud too, because all of the vampires looked up at me. Somehow, I remembered how to blush, though I wish I hadn't.

Alice was gone? (I refused to think the word dead) Not Alice. The first of Edward's family to accept me was gone.

I looked helplessly at Edward and he looked angry, scared and worried at the same time. However, I doubted that anyone other than the Cullen's and myself could see that he was anything other than angry, but he showed it in the way he knotted his eyebrows and set his jaw.

Then I saw a woman step into the middle of the room. Victoria. I realized that I had been looking at her picture by the couch. My heart rate must have picked up a little because the vampires around me glanced at me again. A few of them were eyeing my hand, which was still bleeding.

"Finally, you have all made it. I've been waiting for a while for this." She grinned at us all.

"Since James died I have been leader, and all of us took on his fierceness in the hunt." She said proudly. "We have never lost our prey. We have decided to continue James' hunt, in his honor. And look at us. We have done it! With the exception of one – Alice – but we can find her later, if need be. I think it almost wise to leave James' one lost kill to roam free though. Now, we are the winners." she said and raised her fist. And the vampires all grinned in response. "We have beaten the _strong, vegetarian _Cullen family." She laughed mockingly. "How easy it was too. Now enough with this, we shall have our fun." She turned towards me and raised an eyebrow. The woman holding me pushed me down the stairs. I fell past Rosalie and landed with a sickening thud on my bad hand. I let out a little yelp of pain, but managed to bite back the scream that tried to escape.

I was only glad to know that Alice was alive. But, I couldn't help thinking, that looking around this room that might not be for too long if Victoria was serious.

I heard Edward growl at Victoria and struggle against his captors. I was lifted up and brought in front of Victoria.

"I'm sure Edward has heard of how blindly he fell into our plan." She said and I saw Edward wince as if he'd been stuck.

Then something hit my stomach and I grunted in pain and fell backwards five feet. Victoria had kicked me.

"That," she said, "was for James." The crowd cheered.

She pulled me back into the center of the room and threw me against a wall and I felt a picture frame break underneath me. Now everything hurt, but the worst was watching Edward's face. He looked like he was dying right then and there.

"That was for me." she smiled and a few of her coven laughed. Edward growled and snapped his teeth at her.

Then she slapped me across the face and I went reeling. But I refused to make a sound, I was determined that if I was to die; I would die with dignity. Edward yelled with rage.

"That was for Carlisle." She grinned at him and he fought against the crowd that held him. I noticed vaguely that all of the Cullen's appeared to be struggling to get to me.

It went on like this, her hurting me and naming one of the Cullen's to be blamed for the injury and me watching only my angel's face contort in pain and anger. At Emmett's name blood began to flow and the crowd seemed to fidget. She kept on this pattern until she reached Edward's name.

She looked menacingly at him and said, "The rest is for you." His jaw dropped and he lunged forward breaking from one of his captors. By this time I was nearly unconscious and couldn't move if I wanted to. He reached for me but Victoria and the crowd fought him back into place. Then she turned to me and I was flying across the room and felt myself land on something hard. A stove, she had shoved me into another room. I swallowed another scream and she was instantly there kicking me into the main room. I knew that soon enough I would pass out. I wasn't fighting unconsciousness, I was too drained to try, and it was coming slowly. Then she looked at me and must have seen that I was growing hazy.

She smiled and held me up to face Rosalie. Her captors instantly began to punch and beat her. She yelped once but held back all other sounds. The I was facing Carlisle and Esme, their captors began to do the same. Each time I watched one of the people that I loved being hit I felt a small part of myself scream in agony that was unrelated to my physical injuries. She moved on to Emmett, then Jasper, and finally Edward. She made me watch for what seemed like forever while they beat him. I felt tears of fury and pain bubble over my eyelids. That seemed to get the crowd even rowdier.

He didn't show any sign of pain from their beating other than a small grunt that almost escaped my ears. I wanted to kill Victoria. I think she realized that I was getting angry. She had them stop beating Edward and gave me a vicious grin.

"Now," she said and clapped her hands together. "for the fun part." The crowd seemed even more anxious to move but they didn't question her.

"Edward, I want you to watch this carefully." She bent down to me and raised up my hand. I winced with pain as she spoke.

"This is the scar that James left. He died," she shook my hand for emphasis and I fought back a groan. "to give _this_ scar to his prey. Now, I will finish the hunt we started." She lowered her mouth to my hand and I felt her razor teeth as they effortlessly broke the skin.

Then there was the horrible feeling of my blood being sucked right from my veins. I wanted to scream and fight back in any way I could. I tried to move and found that if I did my whole body screamed in blinding pain. I looked at Edward, I wanted his face to be the image that I carried to my grave. He looked so tormented when he caught my eye that I wanted to pass out. I wanted this to be the end. They had everyone I loved here.

I closed my eyes and waited for death to take me.

**AN: I am so glad that I got this all out! Please tell me what you're thinking…I'm not Edward for godsakes! (Cheesy joke, but I love it!)**

**R&R Folks!**


	16. Death

**AN:** Thank you all so much for your replies! I love getting them!

_I closed my eyes and waited for death to take me._

Let me tell you now – it was nothing like movies or books tell you. First off, I saw no bright light or angels or even dead family members. Nothing. All I saw was blackness. Second, there was no out of body experience, I didn't suddenly find myself floating above my own corpse. Nope. It was just agony for what seemed like eternity.

I could hear distant voices, they sounded panicked but I couldn't place them.

I can tell you now; I did not die – though at the time that sounded like a nice alternative to continuing on in this state. But what did happen was even better: suddenly, there a loud crash and I thought that maybe this was how death sounded, and then I realized that the horrible sucking feeling was gone, and I hadn't lost the feeling in my body. No one was drinking my blood. If I could've smiled for this tiny miracle, I would have. Instantly I heard the sounds of a struggle; there was screams of pain, rage and even surprise, I heard the low grunts of fighting all around me. Then I screamed.

Or should I say I tried to scream, what came out was more of a raw-panting-gurgling sound. It was like a nightmare, the miserably familiar pain in my arm was back. Only this time, it felt like my whole arm had been dipped in acid.

"Help." I tried to say, "Edward! My arm!" But all that came out was a low moan.

But then I was being held up and carried away. My arm muscles continued to tense and then loosen just when I thought my arm would shatter from the pain. I would have given anything to trade this pain for an entire body of broken bones. Then, except for two low voices there was quiet. I recognized the voices and they gave me a glimmer of hope.

"Will she be okay, Carlisle?" Edward asked frantically, I felt my heart jump at his voice, but this only caused me pain and I let out a small groan.

I was vaguely aware of someone – Edward– stroking my cheek, and someone else – Carlisle – touching points on my body and placing his head near my lungs to listen to my breathing. The wave of pain moved up to my shoulder and I heard the crunch of my bones being contorted.

"She's dying." Carlisle answered solemnly. The pain continued and I wished someone would stop it, I wished someone would please pull off my arm.

"From the poison?" Edward asked and I knew that was what he wanted to hear; that if he was able to suck the poison from me, I would get better, like last time.

"No. Can you hear her breathing? It's amazingly shallow and rasping. I'm guessing she punctured a lung. And from the beating she took, I wouldn't be surprised to find that she has severe internal damage. Besides, she's lost most of her blood." I heard a crash and a wail of fury. The pain jumped to my chest and I stopped breathing altogether.

"Edward." I tried to say, I wanted him near me.

"Bella, I'm sorry. Oh God, I'm sorry." He kept repeating and I struggled to inhale over the fire that had engulfed my lungs.

"I don't know…I don't know if she'll live through the change. Her body is in such bad shape. She could die before the venom has gone far enough through her body. Allowing her to change is the only possible way to save her." Carlisle said, his normally calm, cool voice sounded tortured.

Edward let out a wail of agony.

"Let me change." I wanted to say, though I was still having trouble breathing. Then all of my senses became acute as I felt the pain spread. This time it went to my other arm and down to my stomach. It was like someone was stuffing me through a meat grinder while I was on fire. Nothing can ever compare to the pain, even the word pain cannot begin to describe what it feels like. Never could I have imagined anything like this.

Soon enough the fire had consumed my entire body, and when it did I found my lungs.

I wanted to scream, or even yell, I wanted to do anything to release a little of the pain; to let it out of my body. But I couldn't do more than gasp and let out small grunting sounds. My body seemed to be rebelling against me. It bucked wildly as if it, too, wanted to escape. Everything in my body hurt, and the pain never dulled.

Never before in my life had I ever been so acutely aware of my body. Time seemed to stretch out forever, nothing ever faded, if anything the pain was fresher than ever. When I began to feel used to the torture, my eyes would suddenly feel like they were being boiled. Later, it felt like someone was jumping on my already broken fingers. Then, even my teeth began to protest. They screamed in misery and I felt as if they were being twisted in their place. Next something was stabbing my thighs, despite the fact that they were already on fire. Everything hurt and I felt it all.

Just when I began to wish for death instead of another minute of this anguish, my heart began to sear. I've had heart burn before, and that can hurt but this was like having my heart being ripped from its spot in my body and dipped in acid. Only then was I able to utter the screams I had been waiting for, only it didn't help; in fact, my vocal cords felt like they had been ripped from my body. I don't know how long I endured this misery, all I know is that one second it disappeared.

I opened my eyes and saw my perfect angel looking down at me. His beautiful face was rumpled and his hair was disheveled – yet he still looked amazing. It looked like he hadn't moved since I'd been here. I sat up and was amazed at the ease and gracefulness of my movements.

"Bella." He said and I noticed Carlisle come towards me and watching me carefully. I could hear the anguish in his voice as Edward said, under his breath, and in full vampire speed, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm like you now." I said, testing out my vocal cords. I was surprised to find that after the pain of screaming, my voice was smooth as silk. I gasped at the sound.

Edward buried his face in my hair and I saw his shoulders shuddering in quiet sobs.

"You can't be sad. Its fine, isn't it?" I said and stood up quickly and gracefully.

"Everything is fine, you are fine." He reassured me, sounding extremely relieved himself.

"Not me. What about everyone else? Are they okay? Oh God, was anyone hurt?" I looked at Edward and he shook his head quickly.

"Everyone is fine, Jasper and Alice got the worst of it. But don't worry they will be better in no time at all. I'm just …" He trailed off.

"What happened? All I remember is…" Then I trailed off, shuddering at the memory of having my blood sucked from my veins.

"I thought you were going to die. So did everyone else, we all fought against Victoria's coven, but they had us. Then Keith suddenly stopped Victoria and said something, but before she could jump up from you, Alice was here. She was behind us because she had a vision of you dying in this cabin with all of us trapped. So she went to get our friends from Alaska for help. Apparently, it took a little convincing but she got them to come, just in time. They saved you." He said.

I looked around the room, everything seemed clearer and brighter; I was amazed.

I smiled at Edward and I saw him looking me up and down.

"Edward." I whispered and was surprised when my face didn't heat up. It took me a second to realize that I would never blush again. I was taken aback, I was happy to be rid of the annoying trait, but sad that Edward would never get to see me blush again – I know how much he loved that.

His head snapped up and he gave me a confident grin that wasn't at all sheepish.

"Well, now that was a swift mood change." I teased him.

"Shall I escort you to a mirror?" he said raising his eyebrows, and I couldn't help but glance at Carlisle who had backed into a corner of the room, and was watching us with a small grin on his face.

I nodded, I wanted to see myself, and then I wanted to see everyone who had helped to save my life.

**AN: Agh. I know, it's kind of short…Sorry everyone! I will try desperately to make the next chapter longer. I just seem to be having these short writing bursts which can be a little frustrating, but what can you do?**

**Please Read and Review!**


	17. Vampirism

_I nodded, I wanted to see myself, and then I wanted to see everyone who had helped to save my life. _

Edward was up in a second and he escorted me to the door, his hand under my elbow. It was only then that I realized how wonderful he smelled. I had known it all along, but until this moment I had never gotten the full scent, and now with my vampire nose, I could smell him. I guess he heard me sniffing him, because he turned to me.

"Like what you smell?" he asked an impish grin on his amazing face.

"Perhaps, but I'll have to see what else is out there." I said raising my eyebrows playfully.

"Oh, we'll see." He smirked arrogantly, and I raced past him to another door, one I knew was the bathroom for a few reasons. I couldn't hear or smell anyone in there, and I assumed that in a house full of vampires a bathroom was the last place I would find anyone. I swung open the door with excitment. To my surprise it crashed against the wall and shattered, while the walls – which I guessed weren't brand new – moaned tiredly under the force. I jumped in shock. I had found the bathroom, and just as easily broken the door.

I knew that this noise would bring Edward, but to my surprise, he didn't instantly appear next to me as usual.

First, I heard his approach, his footsteps landing lightly on the hallway as he raced towards me. Second, I could smell his scent growing closer, all of this happened fast, but it was still all new. I was ready for him when he entered the door. _I could really get used to this. _

"Wow, Bella. I'm kind of glad that you didn't become a vampire in my house. I have a feeling that you're not quite done with your clumsy streak just yet." He smiled and with an easy swipe of his foot, he pushed the debris to a corner. There was a few holes in the wall and much of the wallpaper was torn, but Ifigured that since Victoria probably wasn't coming back soon, it was no big deal.

"So?" he prompted. Was he waiting for an explanation from me? I thought it was pretty clear what had happened, but okay.

"Well, I didn't know I was going to swing the door open that hard. Really, I – " He cut me off mid-explanation.

"No. What do you think of…you?" he asked and turned me towards the mirror.

I could only blink, this girl in the mirror couldn't be me. She had my brown hair (which was now forever just below my shoulder, but it could be worse: I could be bald), but the rest of her seemed different. Not monumentally different, but there was enough to make me speechless.

To begin with, my hair seemed shinier and smoother than before. Moving to my face, my complexion (which had the occasional annoying break-out) was smooth and clear and pale as snow. My eyebrows where arched perfectly over my eyes which were now framed by long, thick and wonderfully dark eyelashes. My eyes were a major shock, the former chocolate brown had become a rich garnet. My nose was thin and straight, much like before, and my full round lips parted to reveal a set of bright-white teeth which I knew to be sharper than the best razor. All of this was contained in my usual oval face. The result was startling, I was not as beautiful as Rosalie, – who could be? – but I was definitely somewhere in the tens on the beauty scale (**AN: Rosalie 20**) Looking below my face, my body, which had been a size two and not at all ugly, now held the soft curves I had always admired in magazines and movies. Unfortunately, the mirror only revealed to about my hips, but I got the gist of my new appearance.

Edward was looking appraisingly at my new appearance also. I smiled and he kissed me, deeply.

And not like before, before I changed,the depth of our kisseswas more based on length and how close I could get to him before we had to part. Now, it was different. I was just as strongas him. Our bodies fit into one another's perfectly and the kiss deepened farther, to a point I had never even dreamed of reaching with him. Then I pulled back (much as I didn't want to), and smiled at him.

"See, getting easier all the time." I repeated the line he'd said to me almost a year before. And it was; kissing had been a challenge for both of us. For him, he had been afraid of killing me, and I had never been able to cope with the shock every kiss brought.

He laughed lightly and wrapped a hand around my waist. He led me downstairs, into the living room. Alice and Jasper were sitting on the couch, - which was sitting on the floor, I'm guessing that the legs broke under it, and half the stuffing was gone – surrounded by the rest of the Cullen's and about thirty people I didn't know. It was amazing to see so many people crammed into one room (I tried not to think of the last time this many people were crammed into this room with me).

Emmett let out a low whistle as I descended the rest of the stairs, however, it was cut short by Rosalie elbowing him, hard. I knew he was playing, and I'm guessing that Rosalie did too, but she never really liked me enough to play around with me. Besides, Emmett is honestly like a brother to me.

The whole living room was disastrous, you could tell that nearly sixty vampires had fought here. There were holes in walls and every piece of furniture seemed like it was on its last legs.

"Bella!" Alice squealed and patted the seat next to her. I ran as fast as I could to her and plopped next to her. She smiled brightly at me and started to talk, but I cut her off.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for anything to happen like this." I was going to ask where she was hurt, but then I noticed her left arm was lying limply next to her – Very un-Alice not to be gesturing around like wild. She saw where I was looking and shook her head.

"It'll be weak for another day or two, it's nothing bad. Jasper saved me. He got a bad gash on his leg." she threw an adoring smile at Jasper, who only looked down humbly. "What a catch, huh?" she said nodding her head in his direction. He looked up at her and kissed her cheek.

I laughed and looked around at all the people I didn't know. They – like all of us – were beautiful. Most of them looked to be around their late teens to late twenties. However, there were a few older ones, they still looked wonderful. I smiled at all of them awkwardly and turned my attention to Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett, who were mixed among the others.

"Thank you all for helping me. Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Carlisle," I listed them, and as if on cue, Carlisle appeared at the top step. "And everyone else, I don't even know you, but you saved all of our lives." Suddenly I felt increasingly awkward, I realized that I had basically been making a speech, and I never did too well on speeches.

Thankfully, Esme started talking. "It was what we would have done for them," she said smiling warmly at everyone. "Bella, meet our friends from Alaska, of whom you have heard so much. I would introduce you, but there are so many that you would probably just be overwhelmed." Edward, who was still standing next to me, smiled at me lovingly.

Everyone started to mingle with each other and start conversations; a few people even came up to meet me. I met a thin, blonde man named Lucas, a curvy, tall woman named Jenny, and another short, thin man named Marcus. We talked for a little and they told me that since there were less people there, it was easier to live in Alaska, less tempting. Also there was tons of game to hunt up there. They told me I had an invitation to visit any time I wanted.

I also found out what had happened with the coven of vampires. Apparently they couldn't let anyone live, because they were all seriously venegful, so they managed to kill them all. And then, about fifty miles north, they found another cabin (luckily the family had abadoned it a while ago) and set it ablaze.

All of this was amazing, then I thought of my human family and I was instantly agitated. I had been away from all of my family for over four days. I said goodbye and ran to Edward, by this time I was hysterical.

"My family." I whispered to him. "What about my family. Oh God, I bet they've tried to call me." I said and before he could reply I was running towards the stairs to get my cell phone.

I was upset and when I made it to the first step my foot went right through it. I yelped in surprise and Carlisle – who had been the closest – was there a second later. He helped me pry my foot out of the mangled wood. I knew people were trying not to laugh at me out of politeness, so I turned back to them and gave a small smile before rushing up the rest of the stairs carefully. I picked up my phone, it hadupwards ofthirty missed calls, all from my parents.

It was then that Edward caught up with me, you could tell he was confused by my behavior.

"You didn't even try to pick up my phone." I accused him. "My parents must have called the police by now!"

"Don't worry, once the change started, we came up with an excuse. He said smiling.

"What excuse would make them think I couldn't pick up the phone and would be away for four days?" I asked, then remembered how risky my change had been. "Or forever."

"Well, it's not that you couldn't pick up the phone." He was starting to look anxious now; I had never seen him nervous before. "It's that you wouldn't."

"Why wouldn't I pick up the phone?" I asked angrily, he was wearing my patience thin, I was terrified that he was going to tell me that I was running away from home, and I had made him tell my parents.

He took a step towards me, and to the surprise of both of us, he fell, flat on his face. He was up again instantly, but we both saw it. He didn't speak, he looked as confused as I was.

"Well," he began, his face puzzled. "we…kind of…eloped." He said and waited for my reaction.

I was mind-blown. I had run away to elope with him. Then I felt a smile grow on my face and I ran into his arms and he gave me a kiss.

"Well, that's great!" I yelled, barely able to contain my excitement. "But you do realize that my parent's aren't going to be too fond of you now. And it might be a problem, since we're not married, and can't be until we turn eighteen." I said, my logic now drowning my excitement.

"Exactly." He said brightly.

"What?"

"They think that we went to elope and almost made it, but then someone found out that we were only seventeen. We don't actually have to be married. And for the record, Carlisle and Esme aren't supposed to be happy with you either." He said in mock horror. "Tricking their youngest son into eloping with you; how horrible." He shook his head and made small _tsk tsk _sounds with his tongue.

I grinned, and then something else hit me. "I'm not going to be allowed to see you anymore." I gasped, "I'm new at this vampire thing. How can I live alone in a house with Charlie?" I asked, my fright returning.

"You'll be living with me and my family. Esme and Carlisle were young when they got together – or so they tell people – and they know what it's like, they aren't allowing us to share a room or anything, but they are allowing you refuge here." He finished.

"How will my parents allow that? They'll fight for me back." I said.

"Carlisle already went and had a talk with Charlie. He waited of course until we knew," he swallowed, "that you could come home again for sure. They were both disappointed in us, and Charlie said that he thinks we shouldn't be allowed together, but Carlisle – and Jasper, who was standing outside with the help of Emmett– convinced him that that would only make us do something like this again. So they decided that it would be best if we lived together without being married, so we could see what it would be like and eventually wind up like most high school relationships do." He grinned. "And since Charlie would only have one room for us to be in, Carlisle generously agreed to have us go to his house. Besides, with Charlie gone most of the time, there would be no one there to watch us, whereas, Emse doesn't work. They even placed bets with each other as to how long we would last before we grew sick of each other." He finished and kissed me lightly.

I grinned ecstaticallyand we started back downstairs, and despite Edward's previous fall, we were more graceful than ever before.

**AN: Yes there is still a bit more I want to get out, so no, this is not the ending! I repeat: This is not the ending!**

**Please read and review!**


	18. Charlie

**AN: AHHHHH! New Moon came out! I nearly had a heart attack just holding it. Hehe, yes, I already finished it. I was too excited to stop reading for trivial things like sleeping and eating and whatnot. **

_I grinned and we started back downstairs, and despite Edward's previous fall, we were more graceful than ever before_.

He held his hand on the small of my back and despite his icy hand, which was just like my own now. I felt a warmth like I was floating on a cloud. My grin widened when I saw everyone downstairs watching us, I knew that they had heard what we had been discussing. I was still used to talking like a human, later I would get Edward to teach me how to speak in hums.

Alice's smile was the widest, not that everyone else didn't seem happy for us, well everyone except Rosalie, who stood there staring at me through narrowed eyes. I think they noticed how wonderful we felt, or looked, considering how we had floated down the stairs.

"So, I guess everyone heard us." Edward said. He, too, was beaming. The small crowd around us pressed tighter to wish us luck and happiness. It was a perfect day. I pushed all of my fears about my family to the back of my mind. This was the time to be happy, to celebrate the beginning of my forever with Edward.

After a few minutes of talking with their (now our) friends from Alaska, I turned to Carlisle. I knew that he had a lot to explain to me. Seeing as he was now basically my vampire teacher.

Besides, there was a growing ache in the pit of my stomach, it was unfamiliar, but my senses seemed to heighten with every new pang. This ache was making me more aware of everything.

That is how, right as I began to talk to Carlisle, I noticed Rosalie standing off to the side, glaring at me. My temper snapped.

"Rosalie." I whispered angrily. She, and everybody else, heard me clearly. Her only response was to cock her head rudely at me.

"Calm down you two. Let's just talk. Besides, Bella, I think you need to – " he was cut off when Rosalie, who had started towards me, took an amazing tumble. Her feet slipped from under her and like a cartoon she fell flat of her back. Then, strangely, in her attempt to get up, she fumbled again and fell forwards. Everyone stopped and stared. The thud from her fall seemed to echo through the room.

She looked dumbfounded and was not moving from her spot on the floor. Edward was grasping my hand and looked towards me then I saw him nod at Carlisle. He pulled me to the side with Carlisle just as the crowd moved in to help Rosalie, Emmett leading the way.

"Bella," Edward started, just shaking his head in amazement. "I should have known." He smiled.

"I think that you may have gotten a power." Carlisle said, though he was standing a few feet back from me.

"Clumsiness." Edward muttered and wrapped a hand around my waist. "Wow, things around you never settle down do they?" he grinned that half smile I love so much and gave me a gentle squeeze.

"Not clumsiness, I think, Bella, that you affect people's gracefulness." Carlisle explained.

"I make people clumsy?" my jaw must have dropped to the floor. I heard a hush from the crowd that was now checking over Rosalie for injuries. "No way, maybe I bring bad luck." I suggested.

No offense to anyone, but I had finally become a vampire, and now, as a kicker, when I got upset people around me tripped? That seemed a bit anti-climactic. It might have been better if I'd gotten no "power" at all.

"Try it out." Alice suggested from the couch. Apparently for now, all my problems with Rosalie had been put on hold. There was a murmur of agreement from the group and Emmett was selected to be my guinea pig. They chose him so that if he did fall over he would be less likely to get hurt considering his size and bulkiness.

They cleared a path as Edward faced me towards Emmett and said go in my ear. Emmett began walking and I focused as hard as I could. _Trip._ I thought. _Fall over. Come on, trip._ Over and over I repeated my pathetic thoughts of doom towards him.

He walked all the way over to the other side of the room without so much as a falter.

I sighed, "It's hopeless. I told you. I'm not angry at him." I explained.

"What did you do to try to make him fall?" Edward asked and I explained my thought process.

"No." he said as if I was being childish. "you have to focus your energy at him." Then he turned to Carlisle gave a small nod. I looked between them and narrowed my eyes. I hated it when they did that.

Then Edward looked at me. Well, to tell the truth, he did that dazzling thing. I grinned and he kissed me. I was almost too dazed to notice that everyone was staring, but I did and I pulled back a little. He smiled and walked to where Emmett was standing.

Everyone stared, and when I fully came out of my daze, I saw why. He was gliding across the room. He looked like an angel drifting gracefully across the room. I gasped. When he made it to Emmett he turned back and smiled at me.

"Okay, maybe I do." I sighed and turned to Rosalie, feeling suddenly tired. "I'm sorry, I'm a little grumpy now." I apologized sincerely and she nodded and gave me a small smile. Nothing big or even lasting, it was gone as soon as it was there. It was a smile meant only for me, to let me know that she, too, was sorry. Apparently I was the only one who saw it. Carlisle and Esme came up to me with Edward.

"Ready to hunt?" said Esme enthusiastically.

"Oh! I wanted to go with her for her first hunting trip!" Moaned Alice pitfully from the couch. Esme looked at Carlisle and he checked Alice's arm for a minute and then nodded yes.

"Okay." Alice said and stood up, her arm hung at her side but she ignored it.

Then, Alice, Esme, Edward and me set off to go find me my first kill.

We went into the woods and I could smell everything. Not only that but I could see it all, too. It was wonderful. Edward kept smiling at my mind-blown expression as I explored the woods, running at top vampire speed. Of course I could never outrun Edward. He was too fast, but I was amazed that everything I ran by wasn't a blur, like before. I could see everything everywhere. And the best part was, I wasn't tripping, I wasn't out of breath, I wasn't tired or sweaty – I could do this forever. Then, a smell hit me, quite literally, I nearly fell over it smelt so delicious. I looked at Alice and she nodded.

"Deer." She told me and we were off, following the scent. For a second I felt horrible about killing a deer. I had never been big on that kind of thing. But as the scent strengthened I forgot my doubts.

It took us about a minute to reach the deer. The deer never saw us coming, the rest of the group stepped back when we approached it. They meant for this to be mine. I could feel my mouth pooling with what I assumed was venom, I could smell the blood of the deer so clearly, it was astounding. I looked back at everyone, I didn't know what to do now. Edward seemed to understand, he nodded supportively and Esme and Alice just smiled. I assumed that meant that I managed to feed well, or else Alice would've come to help me.

I stepped forward lightly and the deer, who was eating a plant, didn't hear me but seemed to feel my presence. He tensed and sprang forward.

I connected with him mid-leap, my lunge was purely instinctual. But the deer was dead before we hit the ground. I couldn't control myself. I opened my mouth and was almost surprised at how easily my teeth sunk into its neck. A few minutes later, I was finished.

I could feel the warmth of its blood running through me. I felt unbeatable. This was truly the best feeling in the world. As we left to move onto a new kill, I glanced back at my prey. It was just lying on the ground in a lifeless – and now bloodless – heap. I felt a pang of guilt, but I pushed it back and kept up with the group.

About a half-hour later we were back at the cabin, all of us pretty full. I was surprised to find that the Alaskans were gone. I had never gotten to meet most of them. But they had to leave while we were gone because of the timing of their arrival back in Alaska.

Then I found out that we, too, were leaving tonight. I helped them clear all evidence of us away. Then I helped them set fire to the cabin and we were off. I had never felt like I was part of anything, now I was part of a coven, or a family, of vampires.

The run was amazing. Everything was new and marvelous. Nothing seemed dull to me. I couldn't have been happier. We almost ran into a group of campers but managed to side-step them.

Emmett carried Jasper the whole way, because of his leg and Alice's arm seemed better, I saw her flexing it slowly before we left.

Before nightfall we had reached the Cullen's home. I found out there that Charlie was coming to visit me tonight. And most likely every night on his way home. He wasn't happy about the elopement – huge understatement.

I ran up to Alice's room with her. She leant me a loose fitting skirt that was blue and comfortable, and a plain white t-shirt that was slightly too big for her but fit me perfectly. She smiled and said I looked like myself again. I also let her pull my hair back into a ponytail, and I let her apply a little make-up on me. I looked in the mirror and smiled. I looked perfect. Maybe Charlie would forgive me, but I doubted it. I had scared them all, they weren't going to trust me ever again. I sighed, my good mood now ruined and looked to Alice.

"How will it go?" I asked her.

She shrugged, "Pretty much like you expect. He's going to be angry, but I'll be there to try and calm him down a bit, and so will Jasper. It'll be okay." She said and ushered me out of her room and to Edward's.

He was waiting for me. He had no doubt heard what we had said. I could hear a few noises from around the house when I had been in Alice's room. I was really going to need to learn how to speak in hums.

He stood up and walked towards me, I could see him glance at what I was wearing and I saw his surprise at the fact that I was wearing make-up. I grinned at him and he leaned down and gave me a quick kiss.

"He'll be here soon. You are going to be sitting across the room from me. I want to remind you, we cannot tell him about us. At all." He said firmly and I nodded, that was going to be hard. I was new at this. Then there was a knock at Edwards door and Alice burst in.

Here, I had to run to the drugstore to find them, but I did it. She held out a pair of contact lenses. I ran to Edwards bathroom and quickly put them in. I was disappointed by how much of my vision they restricted. I looked at Edward in frustration and he smiled.

"Only for a year." He said happily.

"A year? That's a long – " I cut off before I said time. I realized that a year was nothing now. I had eternity. Eternity.

I looked away and then we all heard a knock at the front door. We ran downstairs and sat in our places. Me, sitting between Alice and Esme, Edward, across the room between Emmett and Carlisle, Jasper was sitting on a loveseat, the only open seat for Charlie was next to him. Carlisle answered the door and Charlie walked in angrily.

This was my first time with a human. I could smell him through the door. And truth be told, he smelt a bit – okay, much – better than the deer. I reminded myself who he was and pushed back my vampire instincts. It wasn't easy, but I managed.

"Bella." He gasped when he saw me. I knew I looked different. If I had been human my face would have colored red by now.

Then he sat in the empty seat next to Jasper and took to glaring at Edward while he waited for him to talk. I didn't know how this was going to work.

Then as the awkward silence stretched on for another five seconds, Alice began talking to me. "Say you're sorry. He's waiting for you to talk. If Edward talks he'll blow it." I realized when no one looked at her that she had been talking in hums.

So I began, "Dad." He turned to look at me angrily. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't excuse us, but you have to know. I really love him." I wasn't sure if I had said the right thing until Alice nodded lightly at my side, though I could barely see her thanks to the contacts.

"I don't know Bella." He started, his voice was husky, probably to keep from yelling. "You ran off almost a year ago because of him, and now you run off again. I don't think that you two are right for each other. You seem to be doing each other more damage than help." He dropped off. I knew he was getting angrier. Then I saw him take a deep breath and he looked about ten times calmer afterwards. I knew this to be the work of Jasper – who wasn't breathing and was looking away painfully – (thank heavens Charlie is oblivious), but even so I was thankful.

Then he shook his head and looked at me pitifully. I knew he felt like he'd failed in bringing me here. That he'd ruined my life somehow, when in actuality, he had made my life perfect.

Then the room began to clear out and Carlisle broke our silence. "We'll let you two talk in private." I nearly laughed at the word private, luckily I held back.

"How could you Bella? This is ruining your life. You are throwing away everything for a boy." He was getting agitated again, and he was making me a little angry.

"No, he's not just a boy. He's everything to me. Please try to understand," I begged. Then I started whispering to him, "Remember how it was for you and Mom? It's like twenty times better for us. We were meant for each other. I'm not leaving him." I finished. His smell was worse now that it was just us in the room and he was standing next to me. I held my breath.

"Bella." He whispered miserably. "Bella, please, come home with me." I shook my head, I was growing crankier by the minute. How could he do this? Being a vampire around my first human was hard enough, but this? This was crazy!

I looked away from him and glared at the floor, willing myself not to inhale, not to tempt myself.

I could hear the shuffling of the Cullen's as they made their way back downstairs.

"Fine. But, Bella, I'm going to keep coming to visit you. I will." He vowed and started to walk away from me, but he tripped. In that instant I felt horrible. Nothing was right about this. I was getting angry at him for trying to be a good parent. Then I saw him, I mean really saw him. He was falling right towards the Cullen's end table next to the sofa. I t was wooden and hard. He could hurt himself – or seeing as he was a weak human, kill himself – falling on that.

In a half of a second, my powers steadied him. He caught himself mid-fall and straightened up, looking embarrassed and angry. He shook his head and left with a swift and angry nod to Carlisle who had crept back into the room.

The door shook when he slammed it and – thanks to my new abilities – it seemed a hundred times louder than usual. My body began to shake from my sobs, they were dry, yes, but that only made them more pained. I took a deep breath to calm myself and felt my human instincts begin to bury themselves within me. I fought against it. It was painful being a vampire and also keeping myself vulnerable to human attacks. I remembered when Edward told me that his human instincts were coming back. I knew it was possible. Though I was willing to bet that it was a million times harder when your human parents still lived and you had human friends. I knew I was in for a battle.

I was comforted solely by Edward's reassuring and loving arms that were wrapping around me.

**AN: Okay, so else loves New Moon? Sigh. **

**Anyways, R&R, it's ending. Don't worry, I promise it will end!**


	19. The End sniff

_I was comforted solely by Edward's reassuring and loving arms that were wrapping around me. _

When would it end? I was better this way, couldn't they see that.

Several Months Pass

School is over now. I applied to colleges, mainly to appease Edward and Charlie. I was accepted to a local college and plan on attending in the fall. Though I would never admit it to Edward, I am sort of glad to be going to college, it's a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Well, at least it is the first time you do it. I knew I would be attending college more than a few times. Besides, Edward made it into the same school, which pleased us both; of course I never had a doubt. He's amazingly smart – okay, perfect, but I already knew that.

My parents and I have had our share of arguments by now. Mainly, over my new home and lifestyle with the Cullen's, but eventually they settled down (for the most part). They insist that if I'm going to marry Edward – which I am – that I do it sometime after college. They want this for a few reasons: first, they would prefer to delay a wedding for me for as long as possible, you know, give us time to break up. And, second, they're hoping that one – or both – of us will find someone new to focus on and this whole first-love thing will blow over. Not likely.

It doesn't matter though, Edward wants me to marry him but he doesn't care when. Though I think he would prefer sooner rather then later. And so would I for that matter. I think it'd be nice for my parents to see me happy with my husband for a while. I say "for a while" because I know that my relationship with them cannot last much longer. Once I hit my mid-twenties, Carlisle explained, I would be pushing it. In fact, he thinks it would be better if I "died" less than a year or two after graduation.

But it hurts to think of faking my own death. I hate to think of hurting the ones I love. Even though I know that one day they will be gone and I will be here, tearless in my mourning. I try to think that this is best. That I will still be able to watch them and protect them, but I don't know. I am trying to leave that kind of planning to the Cullen's – whose name I will take once I "die" – and I am working on my relationship with my parents. Though part of me says that it would be best if I left them alone and just disappeared, cutting off all contact, rather than dying, but I want them to know me.

Like I said, I try not to think about it too much.

On the other hand, life as a vampire is fantastic. I have even joined in on the occasional baseball game, though most times I prefer to watch with Esme. I think the others wouldn't mind if I played, but strange things happen when I play. For one, Edward runs faster than ever – when I'm happy – and my other teammates – like Rosalie – tend to fumble more than normal. I try to stay out and contain my powers. I'm learning to handle them better and better each day. School was the best at teaching me to contain my powers. Everyday occurrences would make certain emotions flare-up and cause people to trip or fumble or walk with an amazing amount of grace. It gave Edward and Alice a good laugh at school to watch.

Even at graduation the amazingly graceful Cullen's were more elegant than usual. And certain friends walked across the stage with more poise than normal.

And now my eyes have started to lose their red. I am told it normally takes a year to completely fade into topaz, but I can wait. I have all the time in the world, so to speak.

**AN: It's over. I was reluctant to finish, and I thought that this was the best way. There wasn't much more I wanted to put and I wanted to wrap it up. Tie up all loose ends. **

**Sigh.**

**Bye All!**


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